Breaking News
Highlighting key articles that can have an impact on everyday business and your business planning strategy in the months to come.
November 26, 2024
Office Conversions Find New Life After Property Values Plunge
The Wall Street Journal — Developer efforts to convert emptying office towers into residential buildings have largely gone nowhere. That may be finally changing. The prospect of transforming unused office space into much-needed housing seemed a logical way to resolve both issues. But few conversions moved forward because the cost of acquiring even an aging office building remained too high for the economics to pencil out... View Article
November 26, 2024
Why Middlefield Capital real estate whiz Dean Orrico is bullish on Canadian REITs. U.S. ones, not so much
The Globe and Mail — The latter moved higher more quickly in anticipation of interest rate cuts. Here, it's a bit of a catchup trade as rates are falling, and that's generally a tailwind... View Article
November 26, 2024
CBRE, Brookfield expand office management venture to Canada
RENX — The two global real estate businesses will deliver the property management services – including building operations, property accounting and procurement services – across the vast majority of Brookfield’s Canadian office portfolio in Toronto and Calgary... View Article
November 25, 2024
Regulatory Change That Could Speed Up Office Conversions Proposed After Ford Government Voted Bill Down
Storeys — A regulation change included in a bill aimed at speeding up office to residential conversions in Ontario is poised to move forward after being voted down by the Ford Government in late October. The original bill — Bill 102, The Commercial to Residential Conversion Act, 2024— was tabled by Liberal MPP Karen McCrimmon in May 2024 in response to high office building vacancies in Ontario... View Article
November 13, 2024
Toronto commercial real estate market update – Q3 2024
Altus Group — As of the third quarter of 2024, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) reported $12.9 billion in dollar volume transacted year-to-date, down 23% compared to the same period last year. As inflation decelerated in August, hitting the Bank of Canada’s target of 2%, another interest rate cut on September 4th followed, which brought the overnight rate to 4.25%, down another 25 basis points... View Article
October 29, 2024
Is pickleball about to gobble up 2.6M sq. ft. of CRE space?
RENX — The sport of pickleball has grown exponentially in recent years and a major U.S. brand has set its sights expanding into Canada in a big way. If fully realized, the plan will result in the leasing and development of several million square feet of facilities... View Article
October 28, 2024
The Commercial Real Estate Crash Is Battering Even the Safest Bonds
Bloomberg — A1407 Broadway was, as far as the financiers of Wall Street could tell, as rock-solid an asset as could possibly exist. Located in the heart of Manhattan’s storied Garment District, its entrance cut from white marble flecked with a soft bronze terrazzo motif, the 43-floor tower was a money-minting machine with a never-ending roster of well-heeled corporate tenants... View Article
October 27, 2024
Ontario developer hopes new house-building robot can alleviate industry’s productivity woes
The Globe and Mail — At a building site in Eastern Ontario, a developer is speeding up the construction of housing units with the help of a new, bulky team member: a robot known as Val 2.0. Over years of brainstorming and testing, Horizon Legacy Construction Automation Corp. has adapted a robotic arm – the type used on auto assembly lines – to erect concrete-like walls with speed and precision... View Article
October 24, 2024
Bank of Canada needs deeper rate cuts to bring real estate sector off sidelines, say experts
Financial Post — The Bank of Canada slashed its overnight lending rate by 50 basis points to 3.75 per cent on Wednesday, marking its fourth consecutive cut this year. While the drop was welcome news for the real estate market, it was also widely expected and already priced into many mortgage rates leaving some industry experts skeptical that this latest cut will have a meaningful impact on growth or investment... View Article
October 21, 2024
JLL Calls For 'Full Repeal' Of Office Replacement Bylaw Ahead Of City Deliberations
Storeys — Ahead of final policy recommendations regarding the Office Replacement Bylaw to be considered by Toronto's Planning and Housing Committee in Q4, JLL Commercial Real Estate has released a study titled "Less Office, More Housing," which calls for a "full and unconditional repeal of the Office Replacement Bylaw to unleash supply."... View Article
October 2, 2024
As Vancouver office market dips, developers turn their attention to hotels
Storeys — According to a national office market report published by CBRE this week, new office construction in Canada has reached a low that we have not seen in quite some time. "Having fallen for the last nine consecutive quarters, office construction has now lowered to 4.2 million sq. ft., a level not seen since 2004," said CBRE... View Article
October 2, 2024
Mixed-use multires a growing sector for Canada's developers
RENX — More Canadian real estate investment trusts and developers are expanding their footprints in the multiresidential space via mixed-use developments. A panel discussion moderated by Colliers vice-president Dayma Itamunoala at the Sept. 11 Canadian Apartment Investment Conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre examined the motivations, challenges and potential benefits of this strategic diversification... View Article
October 1, 2024
The evolution of small bay industrial real estate
RENX — The small bay industrial real estate sector in Canada has been undergoing a transformative shift driven by economic changes and evolving market demands. These multi-tenant properties, with ceiling heights of 14-20 feet and units ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 square feet (up to 20,000 sf), are becoming increasingly valuable in the eyes of specialized owners... View Article
October 1, 2024
Suburbs leading demand uptick for office space in Canadian markets
Financial Post — Canada is on pace for its first year of positive office leasing activity since before the pandemic after six of 10 major markets recorded net positive demand in the third quarter, according to a report Tuesday. Toronto led the way during the quarter, with more than 650,000 square feet of positive net absorption — the amount of spaced leased compared with inventory that became available... View Article
August 29, 2024
BC Outlines Local Requirements For New Inclusionary Zoning, Density Bonus Bill
Storeys — After announcing a wave of new housing-focused legislation last fall that local governments only recently completed implementing (mostly), the Province announced yet another new piece of legislation on April 3, which it said builds upon and works alongside the previous legislative changes... View Article
August 26, 2024
More interest rate cuts prime REITs in Canada for a rebound, TD says
Financial Post — Canadian real estate investment trusts are primed for a rebound as investors grow more confident in near-term interest rate cuts across North America, according to TD Cowen. With the United States Federal Reserve ready to pivot and the Bank of Canada widely expected to lower its benchmark rate... View Article
August 26, 2024
Receiverships soar, putting distressed commercial properties on market
The Globe and Mail — More troubled properties are expected to hit the market as real estate companies struggle with higher borrowing costs and miss their loan... View Article
August 22, 2024
Calgary's CRE investment market 'remarkably' strong: Barclay Street
RENX — Investment activity in Calgary's commercial real estate market was “remarkably” strong through the first half of this year - the third-highest period on record going back to 2013, according to a new report by Barclay Street Real Estate. The report states there were 356 transactions for a total of about $1.85 billion in activity... View Article
August 20, 2024
What the 1990s real estate crisis can teach us about today's Canadian real estate market
RENX — Picture a time characterized by aggressive lending practices, substantial value adjustments, a severe liquidity shortage and high borrowing rates, except it’s not the 1990s – it’s 2024. What was considered a historically turbulent time for Canada’s commercial real estate industry has quickly gained traction as a blueprint for what we are seeing today and what we can anticipate in the months ahead... View Article
August 13, 2024
Toronto Commercial real estate market update - Q2 2024
Altus Group — The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) reported $9.3 billion in dollar volume transacted for the first half of 2024, down 19% year-over-year (YoY). The Bank of Canada’s decision to lower the overnight interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.75% on June 5th will have boosted sentiment for some investors. However, further rate cuts would be required for all asset classes to see a more significant increase in transaction activity... View Article
August 6, 2024
Calgary's office market is looking up, for a lot of reasons
RENX — Calgary’s long-challenged office market is seeing a glimmer of hope these days with tightening availability and steadily rising rents, according to a new report by Savills. Class-AA/A buildings continue to outperform and are experiencing increasing competition for contiguous space. The overall availability rate has declined 130 basis points (bps) from last year to 20.4 per cent... View Article
August 5, 2024
Commercial real estate preps for the workplace of the future
MIT Management — It’s been four years since COVID-19 began emptying office buildings worldwide, and the commercial real estate sector is still feeling the fallout. Higher interest rates, waning demand for office space, and empty, difficult-to-convert office towers are among the challenges the market faces. Those same trends present an opportunity for the sector to adapt to how people want to live and work today... View Article
August 1, 2024
CAPREIT acquires $387M in new apartment buildings
RENX — Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAPREIT) has unveiled six acquisitions of apartment buildings and three non-core property divestments totalling $477 million in transactions, a move aligned with its ongoing portfolio modernization strategy. In Q2, CAPREIT (CAR-UN-T) completed and closed the acquisitions of properties across Canada totalling $387.4 million. It also closed or has entered into agreements to close three non-core Canadian properties to non-profit organizations for a total of $89.3 million... View Article
July 29, 2024
Commercial realtors cite capital gains tax as reason for last month's record sales
Financial Post — A surge in commercial real estate activity last month is being attributed to the recent changes in capital gains taxes. According to Colliers Canada, the changes, which came into effect on June 25, prompted a wave of asset sales as owners rushed to divest before the new tax implications took hold. The flurry of transactions set a new record, with Colliers closing 156 deals from June 1 to 30 — a 26 per cent more than were completed in June 2023, and the highest number of June transactions in a decade... View Article
July 23, 2024
Asset classes investors are betting on with commercial real estate in comeback mode
The Globe and Mail — After one of the softest years on record, the Canadian commercial real estate market has roared back to life. “We sort of hit bottom in the first quarter of this year,” when national investment activity tapped out at just $8.5-billion, says Scott Figler, director of Canada research at JLL. The firm’s just-tallied transactions for the second quarter surpass $12-billion. “It’s a really positive story,” Mr. Figler says, adding the latest total beats the 10-year quarterly average by about $2-billion... View Article
June 26, 2024
Bank of Canada's cutting cycle a 'big tailwind for Canadians': economist
BNN Bloomberg — One economist says that over the longer term, Canada’s interest rate-cutting cycle will spur strong economic growth relative to the U.S. James Orlando, director and senior economist at TD Economics, said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Wednesday that over the last two years, Canadians “have been suffering the weight of high interest rates.” He added that due to high levels of debt, Canadians are more sensitive to elevated borrowing costs... View Article
June 13, 2024
'The office market is not dead'
RENX — Despite what some tenants are hearing from some news outlets, Montreal’s office market is far from flatlining. That’s what Meggie Bergevin, senior associate at Cushman & Wakefield, told attendees at a session on the city’s office market during the Montreal Real Estate Forum, held June 6 at the city’s convention centre... View Article
June 11, 2024
Patience, Communication Needed As GTA Works To Trim Construction Red Tape
BISNOW — It is a tale of two headlines in the greater Toronto area, where a follower of the city’s commercial real estate scene might experience a slight case of cognitive whiplash if they read the news regularly. One day, they might see a headline like this one from April, attesting to the city’s long-running building boom: Toronto Continues to Lead Crane Index... View Article
June 10, 2024
Commercial real estate is in a growing crisis that seems to have no end
The Globe and Mail — In some respects, solving the puzzle of the looming office space crisis is a bit like being tasked with designing a plan to save the dinosaurs. There has been a catastrophic event – the pandemic – that along with technology have changed the environment and the behaviours that shape it. Despite efforts by companies to cajole and compel people back to offices, vacancy rates in the U.S. and Canada remain around 20 per cent... View Article
June 6, 2024
Commercial real estate trends shifting toward purpose-built rentals: Re/Max report
Financial Post — An analysis of 12 of the largest Canadian commercial real estate markets shows developers have shifted their focus toward purpose-built rental construction, some at the expense of new residential condominiums and commercial buildings... View Article
May 30, 2024
Many challenges facing Canada's development land market
RENX — Canadian development land sales peaked at around $30 billion in 2022, dropped to $16.5 billion in 2023 and are on pace for about $10 billion this year. “It’s a tremendous decline, but it follows the trends for other kinds of commercial real estate investments not just in Canada, but worldwide,” said Jim Costello, MSCI head of real estate economics and MSCI Real Estate chief economist, as he moderated a panel on land availability and values at the May 28 Land & Development conference in Toronto... View Article
May 27, 2024
Q1 CRE transactions plunge 55% in Canada's major markets
RENX — Investment sales dropped by more than 55 per cent across four major asset classes in Canada’s largest markets in Q1 2024, according to Morguard Corporation’s 2024 Canadian Economic Outlook and Market Fundamentals First Quarter Update. Almost $2.6 billion of transaction volume was reported in the quarter for properties selling for at least $10 million in the Greater Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal areas combined... View Article
May 26, 2024
Commercial real estate’s last best hope, industrial and storage properties, hit by oversupply – and investors are spooked
The Globe and Mail — Two years into the most intense campaign of interest-rate hikes in decades, commercial real estate's last bastions of support are faltering, with industrial and storage property owners succumbing to oversupply and slowing demand... View Article
May 22, 2024
Douglas Todd: Why the appearance of a B.C. homebuilding boom is deceiving
Vancouver Sun — Orange construction cranes pepper the skyline of Metro Vancouver, seemingly more than ever. Gleaming new condo towers are going up like never before, from North Vancouver to Surrey. House and rental prices are exorbitant. Old houses are being torn down for multi-unit buildings. It all gives the impression the residential construction business is booming... View Article
May 8, 2024
How Thoughtful Land Use Planning Can Provide Stability To Businesses
Storeys — The development of land and construction of buildings provide businesses with space where they can grow, whether it be retail shops, office buildings, or industrial-grade spaces. For these businesses to grow and prosper, however, they need stability — tenant accommodations, consistent municipal land use plans, certain government policy framework, fixed long-term leases, predictable property tax bills, clear business permitting and licensing rules, among other things... View Article
May 2, 2024
"A Brutal System": Toronto's Affordable Housing Lotteries Need An Upgrade
Storeys — Early last year, Westbank Corp. and the City of Toronto opened a lottery for 37 affordable apartments at the former’s Mirvish Village rental development on the iconic site of the late Honest Ed’s store. By the time the lottery closed on March 6, 2023 — just three months after launching — it had attracted 8,429 applications. Several months later, in August, another lottery for 104 apartments at Canary Landing, near the Distillery District, closed having garnered 6,520 expressions of interest... View Article
May 1, 2024
Starlight lists 26-property, 2,643-apt. Canadian portfolio for sale
RENX — Starlight Investments has placed a portfolio of 26 multifamily assets with 2,643 housing units in eight Ontario and British Columbia markets up for sale. If a transaction is closed, it would almost certainly be one of the largest of the year for the sector... View Article
April 30, 2024
Freedom From Square Feet: A New Paradigm Shift In Commercial Real Estate
Forbes — It’s hard to believe that an industry that is growing 15% on an annual basis has a profitability problem; but as we explored in our latest piece on the subject, nearly half of coworking operators are either breaking even or operating at a loss. That’s even more concerning when you consider that according to CoworkingCafe, a popular listing service for flexible workspace solutions and part of Yardi’s commercial listing sites, interest in coworking has skyrocketed over the past few years... View Article
April 29, 2024
The right office solution can take finding the right partner
Financial Post — There’s more choice than ever for office space, but it can still be a challenge for smaller companies to find the right fit. The rise of remote and hybrid work has made it harder to justify a full office, so more are leaning on co-working spaces that they share with many others for convenience and cost savings. The choice, however, comes at the expense of privacy and control... View Article
April 24, 2024
Fears of Ravaged Commercial Real Estate Market Have Eased, DoubleLine Says
BNN Bloomberg — Recovering risk appetite and tightening spreads in the commercial real estate market mean active managers have to work a little harder, according to DoubleLine Capital LP. The most “draconian” scenarios have been priced out of commercial mortgage-backed securities following the sudden unraveling of Silicon Valley Bank last March, according to DoubleLine portfolio manager Morris Chen... View Article
April 2, 2024
Federal gov't unveils $6B infra fund to push housing density
RENX — The federal government has unveiled a $6-billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF) to arm provinces with funds to build water and solid waste infrastructure provided they facilitate rapid construction of more, and denser, housing options... View Article
April 2, 2024
B.C.’s Lower Mainland experiences slowest commercial real estate market activity in four years
Real Estate Magazine — Last year, British Columbia’s Lower Mainland saw its lowest level of commercial real estate activity since 2019, according to Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR).In 2023, the Lower Mainland had 1,249 commercial sales, a 41.7 per cent decrease from the 2,144 sales in 2022... View Article
April 1, 2024
Next in line for review: Toronto's tall buildings guidelines
RENX — “In June 2023, council requested moving forward with community consultations regarding proposed changes to the Rear Transition Performance Standards, changes that aim to replace the "wedding-cake" effect caused by angular planes and current guidelines... View Article
March 27, 2024
Housing starts stable in 2023, but demand still outpaces growing supply of apartments
BNN Bloomberg — The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says construction of new homes in Canada's six largest cities remained stable at near all-time high levels last year, driven by a surge of new apartments — despite demand still outpacing supply for rental housing... View Article
March 13, 2024
The 'nightmare scenario': High interest rates are pushing more developments into receivership
Financial Post — To passersby, the construction site at Yonge and Bloor in downtown Toronto where The One, an 85-storey mixed-use development is slowly taking shape, looks just like any other, albeit on a grander scale. Workers are making progress, pushing up past the 50th storey as the building’s facade begins to take shape... View Article
March 8, 2024
Housing Takes Centre Stage at NAIOP International Women’s Day Event
RENX — “There's no industry that's going to have a bigger impact on the soul of this country than the housing industry,” according to Dream Unlimited Corp. head of affordable housing and public affairs Ana Bailão. While International Women’s Day is officially March 8, Bailão made her statement at the NAIOP Greater Toronto Chapter’s annual International Women’s Day event at Toronto’s Sutton Place Hotel on March 5... View Article
March 8, 2024
Four Commercial Real Estate Trends To Watch In 2024
Forbes — As we begin 2024, commercial real estate investors are keeping a close eye on the trends most likely to dominate news headlines and impact portfolio performance in the coming year. Most importantly, industry players are learning to cope with the highest borrowing costs seen in over 15 years... View Article
March 5, 2024
Local Councillor Asking BC Gov To Allow Rent Control For Commercial Tenants
Storeys — Under British Columbia's Residential Tenancy Act, landlords are limited in the increase in rent they can demand each year, with the limit for 2024 set at 3.5%. New Westminster City Councillor Tasha Henderson wants to see a policy like this, commonly referred to as "rent control," introduced for tenants in commercial buildings as well, whether it be local businesses and what Henderson referred to as "community-serving organizations."... View Article
March 5, 2024
'Optimistic' earnings outlook for Canada's REITs
RENX — The commercial real estate market continues to face challenges due to high interest rates, costs and scarcity of capital -- but a sense of optimism is growing according to at least one industry monitor. A panel of industry experts provided multi-sector insights on the issues, as well as exploring emerging growth opportunities, during a discussion moderated by former REIT analyst Gaurav Mathur at the RealCapital conference at Toronto’s Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Feb. 27... View Article
March 1, 2024
‘Upward Momentum By Q3’: Toronto Broker Expects Signs Of CRE Improvement In 2024
BISNOW — Mirabelli Corp. is a long-time builder, developer and property manager of light industrial and other types of commercial real estate throughout North America. When a potential project arises in the Greater Toronto Area, Mirabelli Corp.’s home base, Chief Operating Officer Adrian Mirabelli knows who to call... View Article
February 6, 2024
Real estate is a manageable risk for Canadian banks, regulator says
BNN Bloomberg — Commercial real estate loan losses remain a manageable risk for Canada’s biggest banks even in the wake of last week’s turmoil at New York Community Bancorp, according to the head of the country’s bank regulator... View Article
February 6, 2024
Majority Of Available Midtown Office Space Located In Bloor Node
Storeys — What had been a challenging year for the Greater Toronto Area office market persisted into the final quarter of 2023, as large organizations continued to mull over their space needs. According to new data from Avison Young, the availability rate in the downtown core hit 18.1% in Q4, a 60 basis point (bps) increase from Q3 and an annual rise of 200 bps... View Article
February 6, 2024
From healing patients to healing the planet: Montreal’s Royal Vic hospital revitalized
The Globe and Mail — For more than a century, the castle-like Royal Victoria Hospital was a primary Montreal medical care facility. Now the complex of buildings at the northeast corner of the McGill University campus is being transformed for a new role: a global research and teaching hub dedicated to sustainability and public policy... View Article
January 30, 2024
Edmonton 2024 commercial real estate market update
RENX — In his third annual Edmonton market update, host Gerald Tostowaryk chairs a six-member panel of local commercial real estate and brokerage experts with a wide range of specializations. The group starts off with a look at what happened in 2023 in the various commercial real estate sectors, then gazes into the crystal ball to offer perspectives on the Edmonton and Alberta markets... View Article
January 18, 2024
The Trends Reshaping Retail Real Estate In 2024
Forbes — The retail real estate landscape underwent various changes in 2023 that will likely be maintained in 2024. It has been impacted by evolving consumer preferences and the supply of quality retail, changing the types of tenants driving demand and the types of centers supplying it... View Article
January 11, 2024
A big year ahead for global REITs: Hazelview's 2024 global forecast
RENX — Hazelview Investments forecasts a bull market for global REIT share prices this year in its 2024 Global Public Real Estate Outlook Report. The reversal of fortune in the REIT market will be driven by "resilient corporate earnings" in the face of slower economic growth, declining interest rates and a pronounced shortfall in new real estate supply, the report states... View Article
January 11, 2024
Industrial real estate remains tight despite record-breaking increase in new space
Financial Post — Even though a record-breaking 16.3 million square feet of new industrial space was added to the Canadian market in the final quarter of 2023, demand continues to outpace supply, according to a new report. The national availability rate rose to 4.3 per cent, up 0.7 percentage points, with gains across all major markets, according to a new report by Altus Group Ltd... View Article
January 9, 2024
Industrial Construction Completions Break Record
Connect CRE News — Canadian industrial construction completions reached a new peak in the fourth quarter of 2023 as demand continued to outpace supply, says Altus Group. The record came despite elevated interest rates and inflationary pressures. The findings will be published Wednesday in the commercial real estate market intelligence firm’s fourth quarter report... View Article
January 8, 2024
Economists see 'turning point' in housing market this year as interest rate cuts loom
CTV News — After a year marked by caution and shifting expectations spurred by rising borrowing costs, economists believe the Canadian housing market(opens in a new tab) could be in for a rebound in 2024. That's largely dependent on forecasts that the Bank of Canada could begin cutting its key interest rate from the current level of five per cent as early as the second quarter of this year... View Article
December 29, 2023
Experts share their rental housing outlooks for 2024
BNN Bloomberg — Lawmakers across Canada have put a renewed focus on making housing more affordable, but experts predict chronic issues around pricing and supply will keep straining the country’s rental market in 2024. "I don't see things getting better in the short term,” Steve Pomeroy, senior research fellow for the Centre for Urban Research and Education at Carleton University, told BNNBloomberg.ca in an interview... View Article
November 23, 2023
CITIES CALL FOR INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING TO BUILD HOMES, FISCAL UPDATE SPARKS DISMAY
CTV News — The federal government's fiscal update has sparked disappointment among many who were hoping for big action on housing, including municipal leaders. Canadian municipalities are particularly discouraged that the Liberals didn't include a new infrastructure funding model in the document released on Tuesday, despite the prime minister promising one would come in the fall... View Article
November 23, 2023
Pricing uncertainty rules CRE markets: PwC, ULI trends report
RENX — Uncertainty about asset prices is expected to remain a key factor limiting transaction volumes, while deals that do proceed will likely be smaller as large investors pull back from the market and less capital is available for real estate acquisitions... View Article
November 20, 2023
New purpose-built rental units are coming, but they won't be cheap
Financial Post — The good news for renters is that more purpose-built rental units are coming, spurred on by federal and provincial tax breaks for builders. The bad news is, those units are not likely to be cheap. The latter realization was brought home by the latest monthly rent report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation Inc., which found that in parts of the country, including Alberta, Nova Scotia and Quebec, an early influx of purpose-built units led to a noticeable increase in average rents in October... View Article
November 21, 2023
Here's how October's inflation data could affect mortgage renewals
Toronto Star — October's inflation rate fell to 3.1 per cent on a year-to-year basis — down from 3.8 per cent in September — mainly driven by lower gasoline prices, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday.Despite the slowdown, the agency said the largest contributors to inflation continued to be mortgage interest costs and rent.... View Article
November 16, 2023
CMHC says annual pace of housing starts in October up 1% from September
Toronto Star — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts for October ticked up from September. The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in October came in at 274,681, up one per cent from 270,669 in September... View Article
November 1, 2023
The movement to re-zone in Canada
BNN Bloomberg — Dr. Carolyn Whitzman, housing policy consultant and expert advisor at Housing Assessment Resource Tools project, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss rezoning in Canada. Whitzman says rezoning can increase the supply of purpose-built rental and smaller ownership options... View Article
October 31, 2023
Housing to be part of Canada immigration plan as criticism grows
BNN Bloomberg — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government aims to integrate residential planning into its immigration policies as it faces a growing backlash over worsening housing shortages and affordability. The federal government will take dwellings, health care, infrastructure and important services into consideration when setting the country’s immigration targets, working closely with provinces and municipalities, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday in Ottawa... View Article
October 30, 2023
Fixing the housing crisis requires more buy-in from private sector, CMHC head tells MPsThis ad will end in 14 secondsLearn more00:01 / 00:15
CTV News — Achieving housing affordability is an "all-hands-on-deck" effort that will require more buy-in from the private sector, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) says. On Monday the outgoing head of the CMHC told parliamentarians that governments need to create the conditions necessary to attract more private sector capital... View Article
October 27, 2023
Good news for Calgary's retail CRE: Demand outstrips supply
RENX — Elevated interest rates and rising construction costs are among the factors creating a challenging retail development sector in Calgary, but optimism reigns because there simply isn’t enough space to satisfy demand. At the recent Calgary Real Estate Forum, Eve Renaud, director, retail leasing, Cushman & Wakefield Asset Services and the vice-president at Rencor Developments, said what compounds development costs is a lengthy municipal planning process... View Article
October 11, 2023
Commercial real estate woes in Canada worsened by tax gap
Financial Post — Commercial real estate owners, battered by higher interest rates, are grappling with another big challenge in Canada: a property tax system that’s increasingly tilted against them, according to a report by Altus Group Ltd. In several of the country’s largest biggest cities — including Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — commercial properties are taxed at more than three times the rate of residential ones. The average gap across 11 major cities has widened in the past year, the Canadian real estate data firm said in the study... View Article
September 22, 2023
Nova Scotia to mirror Ottawa and remove sales tax from new rental constructions
BNN Bloomberg — Nova Scotia will remove the provincial portion of the harmonized sales tax from the construction of new rental apartment buildings, Premier Tim Houston said Thursday.Houston said his province plans to mirror a move announced last week by the federal government, which said it would suspend GST on rental housing starts to lower the cost of labour and materials for homebuilders... View Article
September 28, 2023
REITS focus on balance sheets amid economic turbulence
RENX — Real estate investment trusts were introduced in the U.S. in 1960 and are active in 41 countries with a combined population of five billion and comprising 83 per cent of global GDP, Real Property Association of Canada CEO Michael Brooks told the audience during the closing roundtable at RealREIT in Toronto. There are more than 900 listed REITs around the world and total global REIT capitalization has grown from $10 billion in 1990 to $1.9 trillion as of Q4 2022, Brooks noted during the presentation Sept. 12 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre... View Article
September 26, 2023
Feds unlock another $20 billion for low-cost rental construction financing: Freeland
BNN Bloomberg — The federal government is unlocking another $20 billion in low-cost financing for the construction of rental housing across Canada, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Tuesday.The Canada Mortgage Bonds program, which raises funds for residential mortgage financing, had an annual limit of $40 billion... View Article
September 16, 2023
Canada's housing crisis will take years to solve: finance minister
CTV News — An affordable housing crisis that is hurting the Canadian government's popularity will take years to resolve, even if construction hits an 80-year high, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Saturday.Her comments were among the first by a senior member of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal administration to acknowledge the scale of the challenge. Polls show the Liberals trailing their Conservative rivals, who blame Ottawa for high inflation and soaring home prices... View Article
August 31, 2023
Mixed signals: Why it's hard to tell if Canada's real estate market is hot or not right now
Financial Post — Canadian residential real estate markets have been giving off mixed signals in recent months. After a strong start to spring, the Bank of Canada’s resumption of interest rate hikes in June sent buyers back to the sidelines. But while sales have cooled, prices in some areas have held their ground, even in the face of five-year fixed mortgage rates that are pushing six per cent... View Article
August 29, 2023
The future is urban, and it is tall, even for used-to-be small towns like Oakville
RENX — We are expecting 1.5 million new Canadians by 2025. Almost half of them will settle in Ontario (approximately 42 per cent), but in Toronto fewer than 30,000 new housing units were completed in the years 2020-2021 combined. Where are all these people going to live? We are already grappling with a housing crisis that is not going anywhere any time soon... View Article
August 21, 2023
White-hot Metro Vancouver industrial market starts to cool, but new space still needed
RENX — Metro Vancouver’s white-hot industrial property market is showing signs of cooling off, but strong demand and a shortage of space means the market still needs plenty of new workspace. Industrial asking rates in the Greater Vancouver Area (GVA) have stabilized for the first time since Q3 2019, according to Colliers’ Vancouver Industrial Market Report for Q2 2023... View Article
August 15, 2023
Office vacancy rate could peak in 2024 as hybrid work gains popularity
Financial Post — The national office vacancy rate could peak at approximately 15 per cent by the end of 2024 as the rise of hybrid work models prompt companies to reduce their office space, according to a new report by Colliers Canada... View Article
August 15, 2023
Canada's office market to worsen ... a bit ... before improving: Colliers
RENX — The Canadian office market will remain soft for the next 12 to 18 months as the industry continues to adjust to the hybrid work model, the latest report from Colliers Real Estate Management Services Canada says. In Intent to decision making in office real estate, Colliers explores how companies have adjusted to the era of hybrid work and the medium-term outlook for the model... View Article
August 2, 2023
Skyline Industrial REIT buys, sells, builds as it retools its portfolio
RENX — Mike Bonneveld has had a pretty eventful first 13 months as Skyline Industrial REIT president, overseeing a number of acquisitions and dispositions along with advancing new developments. The privately owned and managed real estate investment trust that launched in 2012 sold the last office asset in its portfolio, a building at 380 Hunt Club Rd. in Ottawa, for $4.08 million in February... View Article
August 2, 2023
Two top-tier Vancouver office buildings coming to market
Western Investor — Two premier downtown Vancouver office buildings have been listed for sale, marking the first major office towers coming to market since the pandemic. One of the buildings is fully leased to retail giant Amazon, increasing market interest in office values after hybrid and work-from-home drove office vacancies higher... View Article
July 31, 2023
Carbon tax hikes could mean tough decisions for some office owners
RENX — Canada's carbon tax could force some office owners to sell assets rather than undertake costly retrofits that could affect the financial viability of their buildings. “The question owners ask themselves, and not just for retrofits but with any kind of capital work that needs to be done, is 'Is this worth it? And, what kind of return will I get out of it?' ” Keith Reading, senior director of research at Morguard, told RENX... View Article
July 12, 2023
Transactions, development surge as hotels, resorts hit high gear
RENX — A burst of hotel transaction and development activity in Canada seems to indicate the sector has returned to pre-pandemic norms, says Curtis Gallagher, principal, Canadian hospitality lead at Avison Young. Given several recent hotel deals, “we’re at the level of volume that we would anticipate under normal circumstances and that's a good sign.”... View Article
June 20, 2023
Primaris REIT to acquire Ivanhoé's Conestoga Mall for $270M
RENX — The 585,000-square-foot regional shopping centre sits on 49.8 acres of land and features a range of major retailers including HBC, Galaxy Cinema, Sport Chek, Indigo and H&M. It is shadow-anchored by a Zehrs food store with direct access to the mall... View Article
June 29, 2023
KingSett's Jon Love doesn't shy away from CRE's biggest challenges
RENX — The Canadian commercial property market is facing political, social and economic challenges. For Jon Love, the founder and CEO of KingSett Capital, there is no use sitting around complaining about the problems without also thinking about the solutions and generating action... View Article
June 29, 2023
Northcrest's new CEO to head up Downsview Airport Lands project
RENX — As the new CEO of Northcrest Developments, Derek Goring has stepped into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: heading up the transformation of the 370-acre Downsview Airport Lands site in northwest Toronto. Goring assumed the new position on May 30 after serving as Northcrest's executive vice-president of development since October 2019... View Article
June 21, 2023
Allied to sell $1.35B Toronto data centre portfolio to KDDI
RENX — Allied Properties REIT has announced an all-cash agreement to sell its Toronto-based Canadian data centre portfolio to Japanese telecom firm KDDI Corporation for $1.35 billion. The portfolio includes freehold interests in 151 Front St. W. and 905 King St. W. and a leasehold interest in 250 Front St. W... View Article
June 21, 2023
New Canadian dream? Industrial growth over home ownership
RENX — The Canadian dream will no longer be achieved by home ownership, but through sustainable industrial growth that will create unimaginable business opportunities for generations to come. So say Rosefellow co-founders Mike Jager and Sam Tsoumas, who unveiled their manifesto on the future of industrial real estate in a presentation at the Montreal Real Estate Forum June 13 at the city’s convention centre... View Article
June 21, 2023
Four Reasons Canada’s Real Estate Bubble Is A Systemic Banking Risk
Better Dwelling — Canada’s banks developed a global reputation as some of the most prudent in the world after 2008. It’s a factor that makes it hard for many to believe there’s a real estate bubble—the country’s responsible banks just wouldn’t allow it, right? Unfortunately, the only thing Canada’s banks learned is they’re too big to fail, and people don’t pay attention to the details... View Article
May 29, 2023
More than half of GTA condo investors losing money on properties
BNN Bloomberg — Last year marked the first time that more than half of investors in newly-completed Greater Toronto Area condos were losing money on their rental properties, and authors of the report that reached that conclusion expect the trend to persist. The research from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and real estate research firm Urbanation found 48 per cent of leveraged condo investors who bought pre-construction units to rent out were cash flow positive in 2022... View Article
May 29, 2023
Canadian Real Estate Prices May Hit A Roadblock As Bonds Surge
Better Dwelling — Canada’s falling bond yields provided cheap mortgage credit, helping to boost home prices. Now it’s reversing course, with Government of Canada (GoC) 5 year bond yields rising sharply. The yields directly influence fixed mortgage rates, and over just a few days they’ve nearly reversed the discount given after the US banking crisis. Higher rates will reduce leverage, and provide a drag on home price growth... View Article
May 26, 2023
Americans should be exempt from Canada's foreign housing tax, members of U.S. Congress say
BNN Bloomberg — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is urging the State Department to ask that Americans be exempted from Canada's tax on foreign property owners.The group has written to Secretary of State Antony Blinken to complain that Ottawa is unfairly punishing U.S. citizens who own vacation properties north of the border. The so-called underused housing tax took effect at the start of the year to discourage foreign real estate speculators from driving up housing prices. ... View Article
May 24, 2023
Toronto mayoral candidates debate housing supply, affordability solutions
BNN Bloomberg — Toronto mayoral hopefuls squared off Wednesday in a debate over their proposed solutions to the city’s housing supply and affordability challenges, with candidates clashing over the government’s role in getting more homes built. Hosted by the Residential Construction Council of Ontario and several other housing sector organizations, the debate at George Brown College heard from the six frontrunners in the crowded race ahead of the byelection voting day set for June 26... View Article
May 24, 2023
Canadian Mortgage Borrowers Are Seeking More Leverage With Fixed Rates
Better Dwelling — Canadian mortgage borrowers are fleeing unpredictable variable rates, and getting more leverage. Bank of Canada (BoC) data reveals that nearly three-quarters of mortgages issued in March had rates fixed for 1 to 5 years. It’s a big change from a year ago, when most borrowers were opting for variable rates. Borrowers shifted their preferences after rates began to climb, grabbing cheaper debt—that also happens to be providing more leverage... View Article
May 3, 2023
Is office building real estate in for a shock with vacancies remaining so high?
Global News — Risks in Canada's residential real estate market are closely monitored, but economists and analysts are increasingly warning that we need to pay attention to commercial real estate. As Anne Gaviola explains, we could see the biggest real estate shock in office buildings, not homes. View Article
May 3, 2023
Housing market showing signs of tightening: Toronto real estate board
Global News — Toronto’s housing market continued to tighten last month as prices edged up four per cent from March and sales moved closer to the level they were at last April, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board revealed Wednesday. View Article
May 2, 2023
Canadian Business Insolvencies Rip Higher, Not Even Real Estate Is Immune
Better Dwelling — Canadian business insolvencies are back with a fury. Business insolvency filings with the Office of The Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB) climbed sharply in February. The number of businesses seeking creditor relief is now back to normal levels, before pandemic relief was rolled out. View Article
May 1, 2023
Calgary sets new April record as benchmark price hits $550,800: board
BNN Bloomberg — The Calgary Real Estate Board says the city set a new April record last month as the benchmark price of a home sold reached $550,800.The Alberta board says the price amounts to a two per cent increase from March and a 1.19 per cent increase from a year ago.The increase in the benchmark price came as the actual average price of a home sold in the city last month was $549,524, a roughly three per cent rise from a year ago. View Article
April 24, 2023
Housing optimism is back in Canada, boosting consumer confidence
BNN Bloomberg — Canadians are growing more optimistic as the outlook for real estate steadily improves and the economy grinds ahead with few signs of an imminent recession.The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index, a measure of sentiment based on weekly polling, rose to the highest level since June. The index was at 50.4 last week, the fifth straight increase. View Article
April 10, 2023
Toronto Real Estate Is Still The King of Cranes, 4x More Than The Next City
Better Dwelling — There was a Toronto real estate slowdown? Hard to notice with busy construction sites blanketing the city. The latest RLB Crane Index, tracking 14 key North American cities, shows crane use grew in Q1 2023. Toronto remains the reigning king of cranes, with almost 5x more than the next city on the list. View Article
April 5, 2023
Cost concessions needed to build enough houses to meet B.C. demand, say real estate groups
Global News — Real estate companies say cost concessions will need to be made if they are to do everything they can, as quickly as they can, to help alleviate the province’s housing crisis. More than 1,200 people, including developers, building owners and investors attended the Vancouver Real Estate Forum on Wednesday. View Article
April 5, 2023
Buyers return to Toronto housing market as prices climb after sluggish period: TRREB
CBC News — The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says competition between buyers started to re-emerge last month as the average home price in the area ticked above the average list price for the first time since May 2022. The Ontario board found Wednesday that the average price of a home hit $1,108,606 last month compared with $1,096,519 the month before. View Article
April 3, 2023
Downtown Vancouver office vacancy breaks 10% for first time since 2004: Avison Young
BNN Bloomberg — Avison Young says Vancouver's downtown office vacancy rate has hit 10 per cent for the first time in almost 20 years. The real estate firm says the first quarter of this year brought Vancouver's downtown office vacancy rate to 10.8 per cent, up from 9.6 per cent at the end of 2022. The last time that vacancy rate broke the 10 per cent threshold was in the last quarter of 2004. View Article
March 31, 2023
Canada's Top Areas for Pre-Construction Buying: The Okanagan, Kootenays, and Vancouver Island
Canadian Real Estate Magazine — While the rest of the nation is holding its breath waiting to see how pre-construction unfolds in its major urban centres like Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Halifax, we ask our Canadian Real Estate Wealth readers this important question: do they want to follow the crowd or stand out from it? If it’s the latter over the former, then perhaps a better strategy is for us to turn our collective minds to secondary Canadian markets. View Article
March 10, 2023
New Canadian homebuyers increasingly stretched amid higher rates
BNN Bloomberg — Measures of financial vulnerabilities continued to rise in Canada as higher borrowing costs squeezed homebuyers at the end of last year, central bank data show. Nearly 29 per cent of new mortgages had a debt service ratio greater than 25 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from about 12 per cent a year earlier, according to the data released Friday by the Bank of Canada. View Article
March 9, 2023
Have Interest Rate Hikes, Downturn Fears Put a Dent in Foreign Investors’ Love for U.S. Real Estate?
Wealth Management — In spite of the disruption the U.S. commercial real estate market has faced over the past several years, cross-border investors continued to view it as one of the best places in the world to put their money. Then, however, came the Federal Reserve’s multiple interest rate hikes, rising inflation and recession fears. View Article
March 7, 2023
Canadian Real Estate Correction Is Almost Over, But Bulls Will Be Disappointed: RBC
BetterDwelling — Canada’s largest bank believes the end of the real estate correction is within sight. That was the message in RBC’s latest housing brief, though that doesn’t mean price declines are over. The bank believes home prices are halfway to the bottom, and doesn’t anticipate a bounce until next year.View Article
March 4, 2023
Canada's industrial sector still has room to grow: RealCapital panel
Real Estate News EXchange — While there are concerns about potential headwinds, industrial remains the top-performing commercial real estate asset class in Canada. And that's expected to continue according to a three-person panel of executives, who’ve spent considerable time in acquiring, developing and managing industrial real estate, at the Feb. 28 RealCapital conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.View Article
March 2, 2023
Greater Vancouver home sales up 77% from Jan., down 47% from last year
BNN Bloomberg — The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says February's home sales were up 76.9 per cent from January, but down 47.2 per cent from the year before.
The board says sales for the month totalled 1,808, roughly 33 per cent below the 10-year February sales average.View Article
February 28, 2023
Canadian commercial real estate investment could reach high of $59 billion in 2023: CBRE
The Financial Post — The Canada Real Estate Market Outlook report, released Tuesday, predicts challenges such as tougher financing conditions and a potential economic slowdown will weigh on investment.View Article
February 15, 2023
Developer insolvency rattles Vancouver real estate industry
Real Estate Reporter— The financial difficulties of a Vancouver real estate development company sitting on close to a billion dollars in property has raised questions about the health of the housing market in Canada’s third-largest city.View Article
February 13, 2023
SmartCentres set to build on 'strong recovery' in 2022
Real Estate News EXchange— SmartCentres REIT had a very solid 2022 and expects that positive momentum to continue this year, executives revealed during a Feb. 9 conference call to discuss its Q4 and year-end financial and operating results.View Article
February 13, 2023
Canada's housing market to see listings fall in first quarter, before rebounding: TD
CTV News — A new report says Canada's housing market will see new listings fall in the first quarter before rebounding later in the year and then, slowing to a more modest growth pace in 2024.View Article
February 6, 2023
Turning empty offices into housing is a popular idea. Experts say it's easier said than done
CBC News — Cities across Canada look to office conversions amid a housing shortage, but getting it right isn't easy.View Article
February 3, 2023
Toronto’s Housing Market Enters Deep Freeze With Sales Down
Bloomberg News— Sales in the Toronto housing market ground to the slowest pace since the first month of the pandemic as buyers contend with some of the highest borrowing costs they’ve seen in 15 years.View Article
February 2, 2023
What to expect in 2023: Industrial, retail and office
Real Estate News EXchange— On the outlook for interest rates, inflation and potential impacts on the overall economy and commercial real estate sector.View Article
January 14, 2023
Is Canada's Q4 rise in office vacancy a temporary blip?
Real Estate News EXchange— Even the experts admit it is difficult to get a handle on Canada's office market as we enter 2023. CBRE chairman Paul Morassutti is among them.View Article
January 9, 2023
Bank regulator weighs new rules as housing risks rise
Bloomberg News— Canada’s banking regulator will consider new constraints on firms’ mortgage lending in an attempt to protect the financial system, potentially adding more headwinds for the housing market.View Article
January 8, 2023
Canadians hope patience will pay off as home prices dip: ‘It just takes time’
The Canadian Press— Many feel 2023 may be the year their luck changes. Prices have steadily declined since last spring, bidding wars are less frequent and economists foresee an end to the Bank of Canada’s quick succession of interest rate hikes that have added hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to monthly mortgage payments....View Article
November 18, 2022
Tech layoffs fuel speculation about Vancouver sublease space
WESTERN INVESTOR— The latest round of tech sector layoffs this week at Amazon.com Inc. is fuelling speculation that office space could become readily available in the downtown core, creating opportunities for new entrants unable to fit in during the tech boom spawned by the pandemic...View Article
November 18, 2022
Will Doug Ford’s housing reforms kill the Toronto Green Standard?
GLOBE AND MAIL— When TAS decided to build a 12-storey, U-shaped rental building on Eastern Avenue in the south end of Toronto’s Leslieville neighbourhood, the developer asked its architects to come up with a net zero design that satisfied the most exacting level of the Toronto Green Standard (TGS), the city’s highly regarded policy for reducing building emissions in new projects...View Article
November 18, 2022
Regional Group buys 3-building Ottawa office campus
RENX— Regional Group has acquired the three-building, 224,151-square-foot Qualicum Centre office campus in suburban Ottawa from Manulife Investment Management. The three BOMA BEST-certified, class-A, octagonally shaped buildings — three storeys at 2932, five storeys at 2934 and four storeys at 2936 Baseline Rd. in the former city of Nepean — were built in 1988 and 1989. Manulife spent more than $5 million on modernizing and upgrading the properties over the past few years so they require no major capital expenditures...View Article
November 16, 2022
Calgary’s Office Market Continues Showing Positive Signs of Life
STOREYS— All indicators are showing that the office real estate market in Calgary has found new life, as the market experienced a fourth consecutive quarter of positive absorption with 185,892 sq. ft absorbed in Downtown Calgary alone and 314,442 sq. ft absorbed in the city overall...View Article
November 15, 2022
Repairing and rebuilding PEI’s unprecedented commercial damage post-tropical storm Fiona
GLOBE AND MAIL— As world leaders, diplomats and scientists continue to gather in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to debate climate change this week the people of Canada’s smallest province are already coping with the climate emergency’s damage. Prince Edward Island is still shaking off the effects of Hurricane Fiona, which hit the island and its neighbouring Atlantic provinces with ferocious force on Sept. 23. Damage was extensive across Eastern Canada; on PEI, 95 per cent of the population was without power two days after the big storm...View Article
November 14, 2022
SHEIN, Amazon, and the Strength of Canada’s Warehouse Market
STOREYS— Fast fashion giant SHEIN announced earlier this month that it had opened a new 170,000-sq.-ft warehouse and office space in Markham, Ontario, marking its first-ever distribution facility in Canada. The Chinese retailer’s latest investment is a sign of the times for Canada’s commercial real estate market, which has seen steady interest and growing prices for warehouse properties...View Article
November 14, 2022
World's First and Largest Commercial Property Online Marketplace Launches in the UK
FINANCIAL POST— CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics in the commercial and residential property markets, has launched LoopNet, the world’s largest commercial property marketplace, in the UK market. The launch marks the creation of the world’s first international commercial real estate online marketplace, allowing tenants, brokers and investors to access properties available for sale and lease across multiple countries on a single platform...View Article
November 10, 2022
Yonge Street is Alive and Well Again: Foot Traffic Surges Past 2019 Levels
STOREYS— Canada’s longest street is back in action. On Thanksgiving weekend, more than half a million people walked along downtown Yonge Street — a figure that’s higher than during the same weekend in 2019, before the pandemic would turn the city into a ghost town. This is according to the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area (DYBIA), which has a pedestrian counting system that it monitors and regularly posts statistics on their website...View Article
November 9, 2022
CRE bears brunt of property tax burden: Canada-wide update
RENX— Seven of the 11 major Canadian cities surveyed by Altus Group have a commercial tax rate more than double the residential tax rate, according to the 2022 Canadian Property Tax Rate Benchmark Report...View Article
November 4, 2022
Cadillac Fairview retail and office properties serve as inspirational gathering places to promote arts, culture and education
CISION NEWSWIRE— As a purpose-led real estate company, Cadillac Fairview (CF) is committed to transforming the communities it serves through vibrant placemaking designed to inspire, unite and support Canadians. Guided by its four corporate responsibility pillars that include Our People, Our Planet, Our Partners, and Our Communities, this year, CF launched local initiatives in the spirit of bring people together, promoting well-being and combatting social isolation...View Article
November 2, 2022
The buying frenzy for Metro Vancouver industrial space is over
VANCOUVER SUN— Sales of warehouses and industrial spaces in Metro Vancouver have slowed after a frenzy in late 2021 and early 2022 when prices jumped weekly with each new transaction...View Article
November 2, 2022
Hines pairs with Canada’s Cadillac Fairview on $1.5b BTR fund
FINANCIAL REVIEW— US-based developer and investor Hines and Canadian pension fund Cadillac Fairview have formed a partnership to develop and acquire up to $1.5 billion of assets in Australia’s emerging build-to-rent sector, even without relief from the higher withholding tax levied on foreign investors...View Article
October 31, 2022
Special report: five top towns for real estate investors in 2023
WESTERN INVESTOR— Western Investor's picks for the top towns in Western Canada for real estate investors in 2023...View Article
October 31, 2022
Recession fears a new headwind for commercial real estate rebound
FINANCIAL POST— Concern over the state of the economy is making prospective commercial real estate clients take their time before inking leases, according to the chief executive of one of the country’s largest office real estate investment trusts...View Article
October 28, 2022
Canadian Pacific Railway plans to appeal massive judgment against company
CALGARY HERALD— Canadian Pacific Railway plans to appeal a massive judgment against it and the province for reneging on a land sale deal with a Calgary developer...View Article
October 27, 2022
Property tax rate balance tilting further against commercial properties, report finds
FINANCIAL POST— The gap between commercial and residential property tax rates in Canada is growing, according to a joint study from Altus Group and the Real Property Association of Canada...View Article
October 21, 2022
Doug Ford will override municipal zoning to allow more housing across Ontario, confidential document reveals
TORONTO STAR— Premier Doug Ford's government will override municipal zoning to allow duplexes and triplexes across Ontario as part of a sweeping new housing legislation, the Star has learned. The Progressive Conservatives want to "remove rules that prevent missing middle" housing — multi-dwellng units curbed by local zoning laws favouring single-family homes...View Article
October 21, 2022
Saskatoon leads in job pace and CRE is firing all cylinders
WESTERN INVESTOR— Saskatoon has the lowest jobless rate among major cities in Western Canada, is leading economic growth in Canada this year and its commercial real estate market is firing on all cylinders, according to a trio of reports released in October...View Article
October 20, 2022
Why Ontario's property tax assessment system needs annual reassessments
RENX— Property taxation in what is now Canada existed before Confederation. Over time, distinct systems have developed in each province built on a common foundation — property assessment based on market value. Some form of market value assessment is the gold standard for the distribution of property tax; integral to this is the transparency implicit in assessed values based on current market transactions...View Article
October 20, 2022
Global housing market pain has echoes of crash 30 years ago, and it could be worse this time
FINANCIAL POST— When COVID sent the U.K. economy into lockdown in 2020, the government jumped in to help the property market by cutting a tax on purchases. The temporary measure triggered a kind of mania among buyers, who responded by bidding up average prices by £31,000 (US$35,000) — more than double the maximum tax saving...View Article
October 19, 2022
Opportunities remain in the beaten-down real estate market
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— While Canada’s real estate market has softened this year on the back of rising interest rates, record high inflation, slowing economic growth and volatile stock markets, pockets of opportunity remain for advisors and investors to consider. “Caution is the watch word in these uncertain times,” says Morley Greene, chairman and chief executive officer of Trez Capital...View Article
October 19, 2022
City of Calgary, Flames restart talks for new arena
CBC— Arena talks in Calgary are back on.The city and Calgary Flames owners confirmed Wednesday negotiations will begin again for a new sports, arts and entertainment building.Their previous deal agreed upon in 2019 collapsed late last year when the estimated cost of the project rose and the Flames withdrew...View Article
October 19, 2022
Feds speed up plans to shed millions of square feet of space
RENX— The federal government is accelerating plans to reduce its office footprint in Ottawa-Gatineau and across the country, and compiling a list of properties for redevelopment or divestment, a senior bureaucrat told over 710 commercial real estate professionals at the Ottawa Real Estate Forum...View Article
October 15, 2022
Winnipeg's next mayor must address shortage of shovel-ready industrial land
CBC— As Winnipeg mayoral candidates trade blows over financial policy, experts in commercial real estate warn the city's next mayor must pay more attention to a long-neglected economic weakness: A critical shortage of shovel-ready industrial land...View Article
October 11, 2022
Canada’s Office Market is Inching Closer to Equilibrium: CBRE
STOREYS— Canada’s third quarter office figures are in. According to a new report from commercial real estate services firm CBRE Canada, while the country’s office markets aren’t as healthy as they were pre-pandemic, they are doing relatively well compared to other nations...View Article
October 6, 2022
5 Recent Western Canada Commercial Real Estate Deals You May Have Missed
STOREYS— After the usual summer dip, Western Canada saw quite a few commercial real estate transactions in September. Here are a few notable deals that may have flown under the radar...View Article
October 6, 2022
Foot traffic steadily rising across Canadian cities, new data show
GLOBE AND MAIL— As Canada moves out of the COVID-19 pandemic era, new data from commercial real estate firm Avison Young shows a steady increase in foot traffic across the country, as more people return to the office, shop in-store, head back to class, and venture out for events...View Article
October 6, 2022
'Return to the office is sluggish': real estate experts say Ottawa's vacancy rate could remain flat for years
OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL— With Ottawa’s office vacancy rate at its highest level since before the pandemic, the city’s largest landlord is predicting demand for space in downtown office towers could remain flat for several years and is urging tenants to bring employees back to the workplace....View Article
October 6, 2022
Commercial Real Estate Is Slowing Down in Q3 2022
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS— After the strong rebound for the U.S. economy in 2021, growth in 2022 has slowed in the face of rising inflation, the household income squeeze, and geopolitical events. While the economy continues to deal with elevated inflation, data shows a slowdown in the growth of commercial real estate. Demand for apartments and office spaces is lower compared to previous quarters....View Article
October 3, 2022
Why Technology Adoption Is Necessary In Commercial Real Estate
FORBES— The commercial real estate industry has been notoriously slow to adopt technology. While most industries have recognized the need, I see many commercial real estate companies that still do business the old way. Some people believe there’s little reason to change. After all, if they’ve been successful for many years without digitizing their operations or trying the latest technologies. What these companies don’t realize is that their failure to embrace innovation can lead to inefficiencies that could prove harmful in the long run. Longstanding companies might be unable to compete with the real estate startups that are embracing and pioneering new technologies...View Article
October 1, 2022
How Canada's empty offices could get a second chance
CTV NEWS— The COVID-19 pandemic has generated significant short- and long-term changes to the way people live, play and, especially, work.While some aspects of pre-pandemic life – like socializing indoors without a mask and travelling – have made a comeback, offices across the country have yet to return to their pre-pandemic occupancy rates...View Article
September 21, 2022
BC Real Estate Investment Hit New Highs, But Instability Lurks Around the Corner
STOREYS— The real estate world in BC and Canada at large has been very focused on supply chain issues and rising interest rates this year, but new real estate market investment statistics show that those factors did not noticeably affect the market in terms of transactions...View Article
September 15, 2022
First Capital REIT bumps monthly payout back to pre-pandemic level as rising rates hit commercial real estate
GLOBE AND MAIL— First Capital Real Estate Investment Trust FCR-UN-T -1.15%decrease, one of Canada’s largest retail landlords, is restoring its monthly payout to prepandemic levels, making good on a promise to do so within two years after management slashed the distribution at the start of 2021...View Article
September 13, 2022
REITs still upbeat on Canada’s industrial real estate sector
RENX— Despite an unprecedented amount of ongoing industrial facility development, continued strong demand has kept vacancy rates across Canada below two per cent. A session at Sept. 8’s RealREIT conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, moderated by RBC Capital Markets Real Estate Group managing director David Tweedie, featured four executives discussing how recent events have impacted the asset class and their expectations for the future...View Article
September 13, 2022
Commercial real estate industry rallies amid rising costs
CANADIAN LAWYER MAGAZINE— Commercial real estate in Canada has seen an upswing in momentum this year after a downturn during the pandemic. Although investors remain circumspect and lenders are more cautious in the post-pandemic era, the outlook for Canadian commercial real estate is positive, says Bavia Bisetty, a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP...View Article
September 12, 2022
Intensification, mixed-use experts tackle sector trends
RENX— The intensification of existing sites has become an increasingly important part of growing purpose-built rental housing across Canada, and executives addressed key issues at the Sept. 7 Canadian Apartment Investment Conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre...View Article
September 12, 2022
39-Storey CentreCourt Proposal Latest in Etobicoke Centre High-Rise Boom
URBAN TORONTO— Examining the renderings for CentreCourt’s newest Toronto proposal, the 39-storey condo tower designed by BDP Quadrangle is nearly indistinguishable among a collection of tower proposals sprouting from the area between Bloor Street West and Dundas Street West, just west of Kipling Avenue...View Article
September 8, 2022
Interest rates could deepen Canada’s rental housing crisis: Tal
RENX— Canada needs to increase its rental housing supply to alleviate a housing crisis that could worsen, CIBC Capital Markets managing director and deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal told a large crowd Wednesday to open the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference...View Article
September 8, 2022
Many commercial real estate lenders anticipate recession: Altus Group
CONSTRUCT CONNECT— Almost 90 per cent of Canadian commercial real estate leaders believe a recession is likely within the next six months, with more than two-thirds indicating it would be short in duration.The Altus Group survey, released Sept. 6, was intended to track the impact of rising interest rate increases on real estate assets...View Article
September 7, 2022
Bank of Canada hikes interest rate to 3.25%, triggering higher payments for more borrowers
CBC— The Bank of Canada hiked its trendsetting interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday, the latest move by the central bank in its mission to rein in runaway inflation.After slashing its rate to near zero in 2020 to help stimulate the economy in the early days of the pandemic, Canada's central bank has moved aggressively to raise lending rates to try to cool red-hot inflation, which has risen to its highest level in decades...View Article
September 6, 2022
NO VACANCY: THE YUKON HOUSING CRISIS
CBC— Housing prices are at or near all-time highs in the Yukon, rental units have never been harder to find and a record number of people are homeless. The housing crisis is nothing new to the territory — it’s been described as a crisis for more than a decade — but it’s never been this bad, says Kwanlin Dün First Nation Chief Doris Bill...View Article
September 6, 2022
2022 summer CRE in review: RENX’s top stories
RENX— The passing of Labour Day for many means an end to summer and that it’s time for a full-time return to the office – wherever the “office” happens to be right now.For those who’ve been away, and would like a quick and easy “catch-me-up” on some of the summer’s most significant news, we’ve compiled our annual list of RENX’s most significant articles from the past few months....View Article
September 6, 2022
Trez Capital celebrates 25 years of business growth and success across Canada and the United States
CISION— Today, Trez Capital, one of Canada's largest non-bank commercial real estate lenders and asset managers, celebrates its 25-year anniversary of being a provider of custom real estate financings across Canada and the United States and a source of stable income to Canadian investors. For a quarter of a century, Trez Capital has operated across North America to help build a successful future for our employees, borrowers and investors...View Article
September 4, 2022
COVID-19 changed office work. Here's what the 'next normal' looks like as people return
CBC— Deloitte Canada would have moved into a newly opened Vancouver office sooner, if it wasn't for the pandemic. But the delay gave the company some time to consider how that space should be used."We were able to really think about this 'next normal,'" said Jayana Darras, the company's culture and people leader, which at Deloitte involves supporting hybrid working arrangements. For now, about one-fifth of Deloitte's regional workforce of 1,500 people is in the building on a typical workday...View Article
September 2, 2022
REITs have reasons for optimism despite a darkening economic picture
FINANCIAL POST— Canada’s commercial real estate companies saw positive leasing momentum, strong rent collections and stable occupancy as they continued to battle back from the pandemic during the first half of 2022. Now the question is whether they can keep that trend going in the face of rising inflation and a potential recession...View Article
August 26, 2022
Commercial Real Estate Investment Review shows strong performance in Q2
CONSTRUCT CONNECT— Avison Young’s Greater Toronto Area Commercial Real Estate Investment Review, released recently, found in the second quarter of 2022, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) commercial real estate investment market repeated its strong first-quarter performance...View Article
August 22, 2022
True North Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust Closes Acquisition of Federal Government Tenanted Property in Downtown Ottawa
CISION— True North Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: TNT.UN) (the "REIT") is pleased to announce it has closed the previously announced acquisition of a Federal government tenanted office property located at 400 Cumberland Street, Ottawa, Ontario (the "Ottawa Property") and the renewal of its revolving credit facility. The acquisition of the Ottawa Property continues the REIT's strategy of expanding into urban locations and allows the REIT to capitalize operational efficiencies with its existing assets in downtown Ottawa...View Article
August 21, 2022
Office workers aren't coming back fast enough for downtown Edmonton restaurants and cafés
CBC— Let's Grill Sushi & Izakaya used to see a lot of walk-in customers before the pandemic, but business at the restaurant on Edmonton's Jasper Avenue hasn't fully rebounded since office workers left downtown in droves two and a half years ago. Some of the restaurant's old customers have returned, but only a small fraction, according to its owner...View Article
August 19, 2022
Toronto area commercial real estate deals total $7B in Q2, up 43% from year ago
CONSTRUCT CONNECT— A new report says the total value of commercial real estate sales in the Greater Toronto Area in the second quarter rose 43 per cent compared with a year ago.The report by Avison Young says sales of office, industrial, retail, multi-residential and industrial, commercial and investment (ICI) land across the region totalled $7 billion for the three-month period, up from $4.9 billion a year earlier...View Article
August 19, 2022
One Canadian organization is using its unique insight to connect young workers with meaningful employment
TORONTO SUN— Even as Canada faces a skilled labour shortage and high youth unemployment, everyone from employers to academic institutions, government agencies, service providers and policymakers is working to connect young people with work. But these players don’t always talk with each other. One unique, national non-profit organization, the Canadian Council for Youth Prosperity (CCYP), endeavours to improve a fragmented youth workforce development ecosystem and promote economic prosperity by helping stakeholders to better engage young workers age 18 to 29 in establishing meaningful careers...View Article
August 17, 2022
5 Ways Commercial Real Estate Investors Can Prepare For A Recession
FORBES— Whenever pessimism dominates the U.S. economy, commercial real estate investors should be prepared to shift their positions. With inflation at 40-year highs, interest rates rising and monetary tightening underway, there seems to be a consensus that the nation is heading toward a financial downturn....View Article
August 16, 2022
Why the pandemic hit these Canadian sectors particularly hard
CANADIAN UNDERWRITER— Hospitality was the sector hardest hit by the pandemic in Canada, but that industry was already challenged with access to capacity prior to both the pandemic and the current hard market, Deloitte said in a recent report...View Article
August 15, 2022
Edmonton commercial real estate market hits $1.46B in sales mid-2022: report
EDMONTON JOURNAL— Edmonton’s commercial real estate market saw a boost in investment activity during the first half of 2022, according to a mid-year market report. Total commercial real estate investment jumped by more than $930 million to $1.46 billion in the second quarter of 2022, said the report from intelligence firm The Network. President and owner Nathan Gettel attributed part of the gain to lower interest rates for borrowing money earlier on as well as investment from outside the province...View Article
August 14, 2022
Around Town: Hardrock Properties hasn't forgotten its family roots
CALGARY HERALD— Fond memories of growing up on the family farm near Yorkton, Sask., have been retained in the name of Ron Holowatuk’s Calgary development company, Hardrock Properties Corp. He and his siblings enjoyed playing on a huge rock on the farm, and so did his own children before his parents died and the homestead was sold...View Article
August 9, 2022
Edmonton land sales surge to $159M in second quarter
WESTERN INVESTOR— Edmonton real estate investments bounced back from a slow start to the year with a surge in commercial real estate transactions in the second quarter (Q2) – and strong land demand was among the highlights. Second-quarter 2022 total investment jumped by more than $930 million to $1.46 billion, reports the Network, which tracks Alberta commercial real estate market...View Article
August 8, 2022
Is the housing market vulnerable to the ‘Silver Tsunami’ as Canadians grow older?
MONEY WISE— As baby boomers age, they are leaving their mark on employment, healthcare and now the housing market.Seniors or people who are 65 and older were a quarter of Canadian homeowners in 2016. The figure at the time was already up by 5% from 2006. This trend is also expected to continue, a study from commercial real estate services company, CBRE shows...View Article
August 5, 2022
Have Canadian home prices hit a bottom? Here are some clues
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— Enter “Canadian home prices” into a Google search and you’ll find endless headlines about real estate imploding. That, and 13-year highs in mortgage rates, have driven countless homebuyers to the sidelines. And many are now licking their chops, hoping to buy closer to the bottom. To do that takes market timing. Most experts discourage timing for good reason. Gauging price direction can be a crapshoot...View Article
August 4, 2022
Downtown Calgary office vacancy rates see small improvement
CALGARY HERALD— Vacancy rates in Calgary’s downtown continue to improve, but are being held back by struggles on the west side. A second-quarter report released by Jones Lang LaSalle commercial real estate shows the vacancy rate dropped from 29.9 per cent to 29.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2022...View Article
August 3, 2022
Parker: Calgary construction firm SHIFT building better lives for people with disabilities
CALGARY HERALD— Motivated by a concern for people with mobility issues and tapping into their own experience in the construction industry, Griffin Simony and Josh Peill decided to launch SHIFT Accessibility Contractors. Focused on building and modifying homes and businesses to make them more accessible for people with disabilities and seniors looking to age in place, the three-year-old company has caught the attention of the national Telus StandWithOwners program...View Article
August 2, 2022
Investor-driven demand prompts Vancouver to restrict further self-storage development
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— Only seven years ago, when Patrick Wood started specializing in B.C.’s self-storage real estate market, “no major bank would touch self-storage,” he says.Back then, self-storage was still considered a mere “land cover” before the “real development” occurred, “so buyers had to resort to secondary lenders,” to get loans, says Mr. Wood...View Article
August 1, 2022
Toronto developers expected to delay 10,000 units as slowdown hits condo presales
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— Toronto developers are expected to delay the launch of 10,000 condo units this year, as preconstruction condo sales plunge amid higher borrowing costs.This is a sign that the broader real estate slowdown has spread to the preconstruction market, where purchases are seen as bets on future housing because buyers wait years for their properties to be built...View Article
July 21, 2022
Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Reports Results for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2022
FINANCIAL POST— Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (“Choice Properties” or the “Trust”) (TSX: CHP.UN) today announced its consolidated financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022. The 2022 Second Quarter Report to Unitholders is available in the Investors section of the Trust’s website at www.choicereit.ca, and has been filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com...View Article
July 21, 2022
Ahmed Group sees opportunity in Mississauga, plans Dundas towers
RENX— Ahmed Group of Companies, a family-owned real estate investment firm, has launched its latest proposal for a purpose-built rental development in Mississauga as the company continues to expand its reach in the multiresidential market...View Article
July 20, 2022
Canada’s Luxury Home Market is Starting to “Normalize” Post-Pandemic
STOREYS— The upper tier of Canada’s real estate market is starting to “normalize” again following two years of unprecedented growth, fuelled by pandemic buyer demand, a record-low cost of borrowing, and chronic housing shortages in markets across the nation.Conditions began to fall back in line with historical norms in the second quarter of this year, according to Sotheby’s International Realty Canada’s Top-Tier Real Estate: Mid-Year Report, as rising mortgage rates, inflation, and geopolitical volatility are dampening the demand for housing. However, while balance is starting to slowly return to the market, luxury real estate has remained in high demand in Canada’s biggest urban centres...View Article
July 20, 2022
Ontario should limit rent hikes between tenants, Toronto city hall committee says
CBC NEWS— Toronto city council is expected to consider a proposal this week to ask the Ontario government to prevent landlords from raising the rent as much as they want in between tenants. Council's planning and housing committee says the province should introduce legislation that would end what is known as vacancy decontrol, which permits landlords to charge new tenants any amount they want for vacant units. Such a bill would tie rent increases to residential units instead of to tenants...View Article
July 18, 2022
Rising interest rate puts condo, commercial starts in crosshairs
BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER— The biggest hike yet in interest rates this year will complicate valuations for residential and investment properties and prevent builders from proceeding with projects.The central bank’s policy rate is now 2.5 per cent, up a percentage point from the last announcement in May and 10 times what it was at the beginning of March...View Article
July 18, 2022
Ottawa remains 'beacon' for office investors, industry execs say in wake of major sales
OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL— Two downtown office towers totalling more than 300,000 square feet have sold for a combined $60 million – a signal that the capital remains a “beacon” for institutional investors looking for a safe haven in turbulent economic times, two local real estate executives said Monday...View Article
July 15, 2022
'This is just the beginning': First Nations' real estate megaprojects game-changing for Metro Vancouver
VANCOUVER SUN— Standing between a pair of gleaming apartment buildings, a condo tower, a park, a future grocery store, and massive holes in the ground that will soon provide a daycare, community centre and hundreds of additional homes, Musqueam Chief Wayne Sparrow said: “This is the future.”..View Article
July 14, 2022
Canadian CRE transaction value hit $23.8B in Q1: Altus
RENX— Commercial real estate investment in Canada is experiencing a major resurgence in confidence, with an Altus Group report chronicling $23.8 billion in Q1 transaction activity...View Article
July 7, 2022
Canada Continues to Lead Foreign Investment in US CRE
GLOBE ST— Canada was the number one source of international direct investment in US commercial property over the last year, keeping with a typical trend. “Canada’s leadership in the space reflects not only the ease of access to the US market but also the cultural comfort between the two countries and the comparative ease of moving capital into the US,” notes Marcus & Millichap’s John Chang...View Article
July 6, 2022
If you work from home Monday and Friday, there's a tawdry nickname for you
CBC— A trend is emerging among Canadian employees who split their time between working in their home and downtown offices — and it has gained a crude nickname.When given the choice, more hybrid workers are staying in their soft pants on Mondays and Fridays while dressing up the rest of the week...View Article
July 6, 2022
Tale of two markets: Industrial space almost non-existent in Waterloo Region, while downtown office vacancies among highest in Canada
THE RECORD— It’s a tale of two commercial real estate markets in Waterloo Region.Available industrial space remains virtually non-existent in Waterloo Region, while downtown office vacancies are among the highest in Canada, according to the latest statistics from commercial real estate firm CBRE...View Article
June 23, 2022
TransLink branching into real estate development
CBC— TransLink is getting into the lucrative real estate development business with an eye to building for-profit residential, commercial and mixed-use developments near transit amenities.CEO Kevin Quinn said the drop in ridership and revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic has made the public transit provider realize it needs to diversify how it generates additional revenue that doesn't rely on taxation...View Article
June 23, 2022
Rising cost of commercial rent on P.E.I. making big impact on small businesses
CBC— As the price of just about everything on P.E.I. continues to climb, some small business owners say they're feeling the pinch too — especially when it comes to the cost of renting spaces to operate.Lenny Wheeler owns Island Kickboxing and trains a number of athletes who compete in events across the country...View Article
June 23, 2022
Four strategic questions commercial real estate must ask right now
CISION NEWSWIRE— It's finally happening. Canada's commercial real estate sector is poised to bridge from pandemic reality to our next normal. To make the very most of this next phase in our industry, organizations will need to tie strategic direction into the real needs, of real Canadians, more closely than ever before...View Article
June 20, 2022
Commercial rent prices are rising, and many small businesses are finding it hard to keep up
GLOBE AND MAIL— Since 2004, Linette Doherty has taught dance and theatre classes to children out of the same street-front studio, The S.P.A.C.E., on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue. Though the pandemic ended in-person instruction for months on end and slashed her revenue, she hung on and has rebuilt her business nearly back to where it was...View Article
June 20, 2022
Former Costco and Target buildings, some of the largest commercial real estate in St. John's, sold to KMK
SALTWIRE— Ikea? Bass Pro shop? Giant Tiger? The world’s biggest Tim Hortons? All of these names — except the last one, obviously — are being thrown around as potential businesses moving into the former Costco location in east-end St. John’s. The 142,000-square-foot building, along with the approximately 120,000-square-foot former Target/Zellers next door was sold recently to St. John’s based KMK Capital Inc. and an unnamed partner...View Article
June 20, 2022
A wave of buyer's remorse is washing over London's cooling real estate market
CBC— Real estate professionals in London, Ont., say they're seeing an increasing amount of buyers remorse now that the city's real estate market has started to cool. Some buyers are considering backing out of deals made months ago when the market peaked. Last month, the London St Thomas Association of Realtors said the pace of real estate sales slowed to a level not seen in a decade as a glut of new inventory came onto the market in May...View Article
June 17, 2022
New economic reality impacts land availability, value, financing
RENX— Continuing high demand for developable land and a rapidly changing financial landscape are already being felt, according to commercial real estate experts who gathered at the June 7 Land & Development conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. MSCI head of real estate economics and chief economist Jim Costello, who lives in New York City, moderated the panel and led things off by saying debt costs are rising for land acquisitions and developments...View Article
June 16, 2022
JLL launches the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability in Commercial Real Estate in Montréal
CISION NEWSWIRE— JLL Canada, a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management, is proud to announce the launch of the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability in Commercial Real Estate. This news is an important milestone in achieving its environmental goals, advancing best practices in sustainability, and inspiring the entire industry...View Article
June 15, 2022
Coach house opportunities put the horse before the cart
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— Back in the early 19th century, coach houses would usually accompany large mansions and were initially built for housing things such as carriages and horses. But many coach houses have now been transformed into quaint modern homes that preserve a slice of history in the city. Often coach houses are free-standing buildings, separate from main houses but still located on the same property. They are similar to carriage and laneway homes, which also offer distinct, smaller spaces to live in densely populated areas...View Article
June 9, 2022
'Saskaboom' reflected in commercial real estate
WESTERN INVESTOR— A surge in industrial investment and new incentives could be just the thing to boost the fortunes of the downtown office market in the city New York bankers are calling 'Saskaboom"The label may be prophetic, but it is understandable. Saskatoon is the largest city in a province that RBC economist forecast will lead Canada in economic growth this year, at a sizzling 6 per cent...View Article
June 8, 2022
No full return to the office for five years, commercial real estate chief predicts
GLOBE AND MAIL— Forget the full return to the office: Remote work is here for another five years, the head of a global commercial real estate services company predicts.After two years of working from home, office workers have grown enamoured with the arrangement. The big banks and other large users of office space have repeatedly delayed the full return to the office. Some companies have started to give up their office space again...View Article
June 8, 2022
Worst-case for Montreal office? 25% vacancy, Altus says
RENX— Montreal’s downtown office availability rate could approach 25 per cent by 2027 should a worst-case scenario of employees working from home and tenants reducing space continue, attendees of the Montreal Real Estate Forum on June 2 were told...View Article
June 8, 2022
CIBC’s Benjamin Tal on inflation, interest rates and CRE
RENX— The Bank of Canada is attempting to convince people it’s serious about decreasing inflation, which reached 6.9 per cent last month – the highest rate in 31 years. CIBC managing director and deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal told an audience at the June 7 Land & Development conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, however, that rising interest rates should be at least as big a concern... View Article
June 7, 2022
Toronto developer plans to tackle housing crisis by building 4 towers of mainly affordable units
CBC NEWS— A Toronto real estate development firm says it's trying to help address the housing crisis by proposing to build four towers of mainly affordable housing in the city's northwest. Spotlight Development Inc. wants the towers, ranging in height from 15 to 35 storeys, to be a mixture of condo ownership and rental units, with 70 per cent of the housing units to be affordable... View Article
June 3, 2022
BMO analyst turns cautious on Canadian real estate, updates top picks
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— BMO analyst Jenny Ma is adopting a more cautious outlook for the Canadian real estate sector, “Canadian Real Estate: Shifting to a More Conservative Stance .Taking into account myriad new risks that have emerged, in our view investors should take a bottom-up approach to investing in Canadian REITs in the second half of 2022...View Article
June 3, 2022
New Brunswick pledges $14M in extra help for landlords, commercial properties
CBC— The New Brunswick government is spending $14 million to partially rebate 2022 property tax bills on apartment buildings and commercial properties that were hit with assessment increases above 10 per cent this year.The decision reverses an earlier government position to provide relief only in the form of tax rate cuts this year and comes after weeks of intense pressure from landlords and other business property owners...View Article
June 3, 2022
Inflation, demand to drive up Edmonton industrial lease rates
RENX— With rising inflation and declining vacancy, industrial tenants can expect to see a jump in Edmonton-area leasing rates, commercial property experts said at the recent Edmonton Real Estate Forum. The industrial vacancy rate was at 4.6 per cent at the end of the first quarter of 2022. Rod Connop, executive vice-president for Colliers, told attendees at the forum that rate had been 5.4 per cent at the end of 2021, indicating there’s been significant absorption in the past three months...View Article
June 1, 2022
Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust and Loblaw Companies Limited Announce Industrial Development in the GTA
NEWSWIRE— Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust ("Choice Properties" or the "Trust") (TSX: CHP.UN) and Loblaw Companies Limited ("Loblaw") (TSX: L) announced today that the Trust exercised its previously announced equity conversion right from Rice Group to acquire a 75% ownership interest in 154 developable acres of industrial land in East Gwillimbury in the Greater Toronto Area (the "Property"), and that Loblaw intends to build a 1.2 million square foot, automated, multi-temperature industrial facility on part of the Property to add capacity and create new capabilities for the retailer (the "Distribution Facility"). The Property is strategically located at the corner of Highway 404 and Green Lane East, with excellent access to major highways...View Article
June 1, 2022
Does Canadian real estate offer better portfolio stability?
WEALTH PROFESSIONAL— For investors that want to diversify and protect their portfolios against the wild oscillations of the public markets, Canadian real estate could provide a high-quality source of long-term performance, according to TD Asset Management’s Head of Global Real Estate Investments...View Article
June 1, 2022
Vancouver’s net-zero building commitments lag global leaders
BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER— Vancouver is middle of the pack when it comes to reducing the environmental impacts of its real estate, according to a new study from commercial real estate brokerage JLL...View Article
May 31, 2022
High oil prices spark optimism in Calgary’s commercial real estate market
GLOBE AND MAIL— In what appears to be a sign of confidence that Alberta’s economy is making a comeback, investors spent a record amount on commercial real estate in the province’s largest city during the first four months of this year....View Article
May 31, 2022
Rate hikes are cooling Toronto’s real estate market, but some homebuyers feel the chill more than others
TORONTO STAR— In its efforts to cool inflation, the Bank of Canada has moved quick to raise interest rates- taking a bite out of housing demand. But while the move will lock many prospetive home buyers out of the market, there are others who won't feel the pinch...View Article
May 26, 2022
Calgary recruits commercial real estate expertise to revive new arena
CONSTRUCT CONNECT— The city of Calgary has recruited citizens from the commercial real-estate sector to help get a new event centre and home for the Calgary Flames back on track. When an agreement between the city and Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, which owns the Flames, collapsed late last year, city council voted in January to get a third party involved...View Article
May 26, 2022
Investment Dollars are Flooding Canada’s Commercial Real Estate: Report
STOREYS TORONTO— A strong economy and volatile stock market are just two of the factors driving demand for commercial real estate in Canada, says a new report from RE/MAX. In fact, the industrial sector remains the hottest segment of the market, with 11 out of 12 markets surveyed across Canada reporting tight conditions, eight of which –Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton-Burlington-Niagara, and London — are also considered challenging markets in which to find leases...View Article
May 26, 2022
Posthaste: Investors are flocking to Canadian 'bricks and mortar' as hedge against inflation, says RE/MAX
FINANCIAL POST— Stock markets might be tumbling and housing markets cooling, but this volatility is driving interest in Canadian commercial real estate as investors look for a hedge against inflation, a new report by a major broker says this morning.RE/MAX Canada says demand for industrial, multi-unit residential and farmland was unprecedented in the first quarter of 2022. Values hit record levels and even retail and office space, devastated by the pandemic, are beginning to show signs of growth....View Article
May 19, 2022
Edmonton could be headed toward housing supply shortage, real estate industry leaders warn
CBC— Supply chain problems, rising interest rates and more people moving to Alberta could contribute to a housing supply shortage in Edmonton, according to multiple industry leaders.These trends, plus the rising cost of construction, were front and centre during multiple panel discussions at the Edmonton Real Estate Forum — a large industry conference held at the Edmonton Convention Centre — on Wednesday...View Article
May 18, 2022
'Rather unexpected' sale: Tsawwassen Mills mall has a new owner
CTV NEWS VANCOUVER— A Metro Vancouver mall on First Nations land has a new owner, a commercial real estate and retail investment company with assets in Southeast Asia.Central Walk announced the purchase of Tsawwassen Mills earlier this month, writing in an announcement, "The following news may be rather unexpected"...View Article
May 13, 2022
Long delays at Alberta Land Titles office slowing down real estate transactions
CBC— Transferring property from one owner to another is taking a lot longer in Alberta than it used to. According to the provincial government's land titles website, the office is currently registering land title documents received on Feb. 4 and survey plans and documents received on March 2. Lou Pesta, a Calgary real estate lawyer with Parlee McLaws, said the typical turnaround time during his 40-year career has been two-to-five days and as long as two weeks during peak times...View Article
May 11, 2022
Empty storefronts no more? Canada’s largest commercial landlords see growing demand for retail space
TORONTO STAR— Lease signs still hang from many storefront windows, but some commercial landlords are seeing growing demand for retail space as COVID-19 subsides.While the harshest public health restrictions lifted months ago, many businesses have been hesitant to open or expand brick-and-mortar locations after suffering bruising revenue losses during lockdowns and facing high inflation...View Article
May 9, 2022
Commercial real estate after COVID: a practical guide to property transactions in a sellers' market
LEXPERT— Similar to many industries, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of the Canadian commercial real estate market. Players in this space such as landlords, developers and property managers have been forced to adapt in the face of uncertainty and continually changing rules and policies. Office and retail spaces experienced difficulties due to work-from-home orders, while e-commerce drove the rise of industrial real estate. Canada’s commercial real estate sector remained resilient throughout the pandemic and has in fact generated increased investments as the economy continues to rebound...View Article
May 9, 2022
Blackstone targets Canadian real estate, opens office in Toronto
CALGARY HERALD— Blackstone Inc. BX-N is ramping up its Canadian real estate business and opening an office in Toronto as it expands from significant investments in warehouses into new sectors such as commercial and residential properties...View Article
May 6, 2022
Varcoe: Energy powering Calgary to lead country in economic growth in '22, but oilpatch job gains elusive
CALGARY HERALD— Diversification will help gird Calgary against volatile energy markets, yet one thing is still clear in 2022: rising oil and natural gas prices will turbocharge growth in the economy. However, it’s not fuelling a massive job bonanza, yet. Propelled by soaring commodity prices, the Calgary region will lead the country’s 13 largest cities in economic growth in 2022 and in the following three-year period, says a new forecast by the Conference Board of Canada...View Article
May 4, 2022
Real estate group wants city to pick up pace of downtown revitalization
CBC News— A major downtown real estate organization is going public with its concerns about the pace of downtown revitalization. The Calgary chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, wants to see more action on attracting people downtown and more emphasis on improving public safety. A member of the group's board, Brett Koroluk, told CBC News that the city needs to find ways of making downtown more attractive to people, particularly Stephen Avenue....View Article
May 3, 2022
How is the war in Ukraine impacting commercial real estate investors?
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— The global commodity price surge that has followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is impacting Canada’s commercial real estate market – in both negative and positive ways, industry experts say. Canada’s inflation has risen to 6.7 per cent, a 31-year high, according to Statistics Canada. To rein in runaway price growth, the Bank of Canada raised the interest rate in April by half a percentage point to 1 per cent – the largest single increase since 2000 – and stated more hikes are forthcoming...View Article
April 26, 2022
Calgary's downtown slowly reawakens after a two-year pandemic slumber
FINANCIAL POST— After suffering through a nightmarish two-year pandemic, downtown Calgary business owners are starting to see a reawakening. People are coming back. New data that measures the pace of people returning to downtowns in 23 North American cities highlights a promising trend...View Article
April 26, 2022
Looking for Lessons in the Rebirth of a Neglected Toronto Neighborhood
BLOOMBERG— A new United Nations research hub celebrating lessons in urban rejuvenation has found a home in Toronto’s Regent Park, a milestone for a neighborhood that began as a mid-century “garden city” before suffering decades of neglect and disrepair...View Article
April 25, 2022
Vancouver office market receiving a post-COVID boost
BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER— Demand for space as companies return to in-person work arrangements will continue to be influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, in some cases in unexpected ways.
...Speakers at the April 21 meeting of commercial real estate association NAIOP said demand for space has bounced back, and some new drivers are in the offing. The panel discussion focused on the investment market, and the fundamentals for office investment are strong...View Article
April 22, 2022
Aoyuan sells Burnaby project and cancels West Side condo development as it defaults on bond payments
VANCOUVER SUN— One of China’s large real estate companies will not continue with two of its Metro Vancouver development projects after it declared it is short of cash and unable to make some significant financial payments. Aoyuan International is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the troubled China Aoyuan Group, which is based in Guangzhou and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It recently sold a massive Burnaby condo development that has been going through the approval process for $215 million. Earlier, it quietly cancelled an eight-storey luxury building it had been planning on Vancouver’s West Side...View Article
April 22, 2022
Hybrid work could push Montreal downtown office vacancy rate to 21%: report
MONTREAL GAZETTE— AMore than one downtown office in five could become empty over the coming years as so-called hybrid models take root and employers look to shrink their real-estate footprint, a new report says. Vacancy rates downtown could eventually jump to 21 per cent from 15.8 per cent now following the pandemic, according to a study released Friday by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. Those additional vacancies would free up 11.4 million square feet of space — about 11 times Place Ville Marie‘s capacity...View Article
April 22, 2022
Canada’s Housing Downturn Among Biggest Financial System Risks, Regulator Warns
INSURANCE JOURNAL— A housing market downturn in Canada is among the biggest risks facing the financial system this year, the country’s financial regulator said on Thursday, adding it plans to review the existing home loan stress test and expand its application to other loan products...View Article
April 21, 2022
NTRY debuts 3D real estate visualization tool in Toronto
RENX— Toronto-based startup NTRY has launched what its founders call a first-of-its-kind 3D real estate visualization tool to showcase, market and sell properties online. The platform is now available for Toronto-area pre-construction properties and will roll out more extensively this summer....View Article
April 13, 2022
Yes, Investing in ESG Pays Off
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW— Why are leaders so reluctant to make ESG investments? Even those who know they’ll pay off are reluctant to do so, for five key reasons. The authors outline each — the numbers hide the truth about the real cost, our biases trick us, we focus on short-term benefits, we think about costs in silos, and we miss the bigger existential costs — and propose a solution for getting past these flawed mental models...View Article
April 8, 2022
Investors flock to Vancouver property market
GLOBE AND MAIL— What came first, investor demand or a lack of supply? For many, the question of Vancouver’s affordability crisis is a lot like the old chicken-or-egg riddle. There are those who fiercely believe that local governments and homeowners have impeded the progress of new construction over the years, constraining supply and driving up prices...View Article
April 8, 2022
Why B.C. and Ontario's new affordable housing plans may miss the mark
VANCOUVER SUN— Ontario and British Columbia have both announced new tactics to address the ongoing housing crisis. While many parts of Canada continue to see housing prices rise higher and higher, B.C. and Ontario are taking the brunt of the blow. And it’s caused potential buyers to take on more risk, and more stress...View Article
April 8, 2022
Crown acquires 1.2M-sq.-ft. Mississauga office portfolio
RENX— Crown Realty Partners has completed the largest acquisition in the firm’s 20-year history, a 1.2-million-square-foot office community in the Heartland Business Community of Mississauga. The investment is being made on behalf of two of Crown’s value-add funds, Crown Realty IV and Crown Realty V Limited Partnership...View Article
April 6, 2022
Office vacancy rate in Canada climbs as Omicron wave delays return
FINANCIAL POST— Canadian landlords expecting workers to return to offices vacated during the pandemic were delivered a blow as an Omicron variant surge at the beginning of the year prompted more companies to give up leases....View Article
April 6, 2022
Behind the Headlines of RBC Plaza Sale with Colliers Capital Markets Group
URBAN TORONTO— While there are hundreds of commercial office buildings in downtown Toronto, only a precious few rise to the status of prestige Class AAA trophy properties, and it is even rarer when one of these landmarks are sold. Such was the case in January when Oxford Properties and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board sold the 1.5 million square foot Royal Bank Plaza to Spanish real estate investment company Ponte Gadea for a price rumoured to be in excess of $1 billion – by far the largest single asset office transaction for the past several years...View Article
April 1, 2022
KEVRIC ANNOUNCES SALE OF TWO PROPERTIES TO BLACKSTONE REAL ESTATE
CISION NEWSWIRE—Blackstone Real Estate acquires two properties and expands its partnership with Montreal's Kevric Real Estate Corporation, which retains an interest in each asset and manages both properties. Blackstone Real Estate acquired 1100 Atwater in Westmount and the Air Canada Tower in downtown Montreal for a transaction of over $230 million. This transaction, completed by Kevric and a Canadian institutional partner, builds on the partnership between Kevric and Blackstone that began in November 2021 with the transaction of the 99 Atlantic complex in Toronto...View Article
April 1, 2022
BROOKFIELD TO BUY 51% STAKE IN four bHARTI eNTERPRISES ASSETS
MINT—A real estate fund of Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management will buy 51% stake in Bharti Enterprises’s four commercial properties - Worldmark Aerocity (Delhi), Worldmark 65 and Airtel Center (Gurugram) and Pavillion Mall (Ludhiana) – for an enterprise value of ₹5000 crore....View Article
April 1, 2022
Tourist-friendly Grand Bend, Ont., looks to clamp down on Airbnb with new bylaw
CBC—The tourist-friendly beach towns of Grand Bend, Port Franks and Ipperwash, Ont., are looking to clamp down on Airbnb and other online short-term rental services that some believe are driving up real estate prices and altering the very fabric of their communities....View Article
March 31, 2022
Industrial space hottest thing in commercial real estate
FINANCIAL POST—Brian Rosen, CEO of Colliers Canada, talks with Financial Post’s Larysa Harapyn about how industrial space is the hottest thing in commercial real estate....View Article
March 31, 2022
Frank Gehry Unveils Homecoming Masterpiece in Toronto: Forma
CISION NEWSWIRE— Developers Great Gulf Group, Dream (consisting of Dream Unlimited Corp. [TSX: DRM] and Dream Impact Trust [TSX MPCT.UN]), and Westdale Properties today announce the name unveiling of their newest mixed-use, two-tower development designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry. The development, Forma, will be the first Gehry-designed new development in Canada and marks Frank Gehry's homecoming to Toronto. What's more, the development will feature the tallest Gehry-designed building in the world...View Article
March 31, 2022
Royal LePage forecasts double digit gain in national recreational house price in 2022
CISION NEWSWIRE— According to Royal LePage, the aggregate price of a single-family home in Canada's recreational regions is forecast to increase 13.0 per cent in 2022 to $640,710, as demand continues to outpace supply. "The factors challenging Canada's residential real estate market – chronic low supply and growing demand – are amplified in the recreational property segment," said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage...View Article
March 18, 2022
Canadian Proptech Platform HonestDoor Raises $2.2M in Seed Funding
STOREYS— Digital real estate platform HonestDoor is attracting no shortage of attention — and dollars. The Edmonton-based startup just announced that it has raised CAD$2.2M in seed funding. The funding was led by Luge Capital with participation from Bluesky Equities, Conconi Growth Partners, Panache Ventures, REACH Canada, SAF Group, Startup TNT, and Wheaton Group...View Article
March 17, 2022
Workplace culture needs to readapt as employees return to the office
GLOBAL NEWS— Shaking hands. Drinking coffee with colleagues. Wining and dining a client. Social niceties once taken for granted seem increasingly complicated as thousands of Canadian workers return to the office this spring, many for the first time in two years...View Article
March 17, 2022
OPINION: Canada’s major banks confront the hidden role of financed emissions
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— Canada’s major banks are starting to fill in the blanks on how they plan to deal with their biggest climate problem – the carbon emissions from their industrial clients.These are by far the largest sources of greenhouse gases stemming from the business of the financial institutions. They are the hardest to tally and out of their direct control. But these “financed emissions” must be dealt with if the banks have any hope of achieving their commitments to get to net-zero emissions by 2050...View Article
March 17, 2022
A list of Canadian companies cutting ties with Russia over invasion of Ukraine
BNN BLOOMBERG— A number of Canadian companies have suspended or moved to withdrawal from Russia following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Here is a partial list of those firms...View Article
March 16, 2022
Proposed budget holds good news for property owners
TORONTO STAR— Good news may be on the horizon for property owners in the Region of Queens Municipality (RQM), Nova Scotia.Residential and commercial property owners are expected to receive a decrease in their tax rates in the municipality’s 2022-23 budget of about two-and-a-half cents per $100 of assessment...View Article
March 16, 2022
Blackstone buys stake in NY tower from Brookfield, QIA
RENX— Blackstone Real Estate has acquired a 49 per cent stake in One Manhattan West in New York City from Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). The sale values the 67-storey, 2.1 million-square-foot office tower at $3.65 billion Cdn...View Article
March 15, 2022
Despite pandemic and global conflict, experts predict commercial real estate to stay robust
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— Just as the economic road ahead seemed to be clearing with the end of the pandemic lockdowns, interest rates are climbing along with inflation, oil prices are spiking, supply chains continue to be strained and geopolitical instability is threatening to spread.But all this is unlikely to be enough to dissuade Canadian commercial real estate investors in Canada this year, according to property services experts....View Article
March 14, 2022
Office vacancies soar in downtown London, Ont., a daunting sign for a core looking to bounce back
CBC— A new report from commercial realty firm CBRE says nearly one in three offices in downtown London, Ont. are empty as the commercial vacancy rate soared during the pandemic. The statistic underscores how the sudden shift to remote work has turned the city's commercial real estate market upside down...View Article
March 11, 2022
Canada’s Office Occupancy to Hit 15-Year High in 2023
STOREYS— Canada’s commercial real estate sector has withstood the COVID-19 pandemic quite well considering how much capital has been poured into it amid several lockdowns. And according to a CBRE outlook report, the good times will keep rolling...View Article
March 8, 2022
Women Leaders Are Changing the Commercial Real Estate Landscape
STOREYS— Tuesday, March 8, 2022 is International Women’s Day. To commemorate the occasion, STOREYS is profiling notable women leaders in the real estate estate industry, and the difference they’re making in the residential, commercial, and mortgage spaces....View Article
March 4, 2022
Green lending criteria will support low-emission buildings
WESTERN INVESTOR— A new construction financing program from credit union Vancity is encouraging green buildings through preferential lending terms.Vancity quietly launched the low-carbon construction financing pilot late last year. An online information session on March 9, sponsored by the Zero Emissions Building Exchange in partnership with the Urban Development Institute and green design collaborative LFV Solutions, will mark its public debut...View Article
March 3, 2022
Vancouver industrial land will soon average $7 million per acre: study
BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER— A shortage of industrial real estate and soaring demand will drive the average price of industrial land in Metro Vancouver to more than $7 million this year, according to a national study of the commercial real estate market by CBRE, released on March 1. “The lack of industrial land across Vancouver has driven significant land price growth in recent years and this trend is expected to continue going forward...View Article
March 3, 2022
CBRE calls on all levers to be pulled to address downtown vacancy
CALGARY HERALD— The downtown vacancy rate has finally bottomed out, according to CBRE, but its prognosis is not as positive as other reports. The commercial real estate company released its forecast for the sector earlier this week, and is predicting their fourth-quarter numbers of 33.2 per cent vacancy to hold firm in 2022. A report in January from Avison Young had the vacancy rate dropping to 29.7 per cent at the end of 2021...View Article
March 2, 2022
Ottawa's commercial real estate investment market to remain 'robust' in 2022: CBRE
OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL— Rising interest rates are unlikely to put a damper on a red-hot local commercial real estate investment market that’s coming off a record year in 2021, CBRE says.The real estate services company is predicting another “robust” year of investment activity in the nation’s capital, according to its 2022 Canadian real estate outlook...View Article
March 2, 2022
Real estate conference strikes surprisingly optimistic tone
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS— Since the pandemic screwed up much of the traditional economic dynamics, there is some chomping at the bit going on especially from commercial real estate professionals with the anticipation that companies need to get back to normal planning cycles for the future. The residential real estate market is obviously very strong with all sorts of pent-up demand. Even the prospect of inflation and rising interest rates is not seen as a major concern for the housing sector right now...View Article
March 1, 2022
Commercial real estate sees record-breaking Canada-wide land rush
GLOBE AND MAIL— In Waterloo Region, in 2008, it cost $80,000 an acre to buy a vacant 28.5-acre site zoned for future industrial development. Demand for commercial land then soared, and a decade later, similar properties were selling for between $400,000 and $500,000 an acre. But what seems like a remarkable appreciation pales in comparison to what’s happened to commercial land prices in the past year, real estate specialists say...View Article
March 1, 2022
Hamilton airport attracts flurry of industrial sales, development
RENX— John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport has grown to become one of Canada’s largest airports for domestic air-cargo distribution, and developers, investors and users are scooping up nearby land for logistics and fulfillment centres. “It speaks to what’s happened with industrial lands in Southwestern Ontario as well as Hamilton more specifically,” Joe Benninger, vice-president with CBRE’s Southern Ontario investment team, told RENX. “Hamilton was a tough place to sell land three or four years ago...View Article
February 22, 2022
THE IDECOM AGENCY JOINS GRAPH SYNERGIE
GRAPH SYNERGIE— Graph Synergie announces today that Idecom, a marketing agency with 35 years of experience in Quebec, has joined the ranks of the company. This integration is part of Graph Synergie’s growth strategy, as it consolidates its position as one of the largest tech-marketing agencies for real estate in Eastern Canada. The arrival of Idecom accelerates our value add proposal by adding a complete strategic and corporate support for its client Graph Synergie...View Article
February 17, 2022
Cadillac Fairview cries foul over Pointe-Claire's temporary development freeze
MONTREAL GAZETTE— Developer Cadillac Fairview is requesting the city of Pointe-Claire exclude the Fairview shopping centre from its interim control resolution (RCI), or development freeze, which city council adopted last week. The freeze applies to several strategic sectors of the city, including the city centre that includes Fairview shopping centre and adjacent Fairview forest, which is located just west of St-Jean Blvd. along Highway 40. The freeze is to remain in place until the city overhauls its urban plan in 2024....View Article
February 17, 2022
Varcoe: Downtown Calgary prepares for the return of office workers — but key questions loom
CALGARY HERALD— Thousands of employees are expected to descend on Calgary’s downtown next month as provincial work-from-home requirements are lifted and staff begin returning to their offices. For retailers, restaurants and bar operators who’ve faced empty aisles and sparse lunch crowds for the past two years, an expected influx of people to the core is highly anticipated...View Article
February 16, 2022
How Commercial Real Estate Leaders Can Navigate The Great Resignation
FORBES— The biggest problem in multifamily real estate is not the pandemic, rent abatement or vacancies. From my perspective, it’s employee turnover — a problem that is being exacerbated by the Great Resignation. As the co-founder of an operations and maintenance platform for apartments, I’m observing that managing multifamily properties has become even more challenging with many tenants now working from home, which can increase the physical wear and tear on the property and the strain on front-office workers if teams are short-staffed. It’s vital to the bottom line of a multifamily company to have knowledgeable staff who can keep up with increased demands while maintaining property oversight...View Article
February 16, 2022
Plan for 45-storey waterfront tower in Hamilton moves ahead; public consultation set for March
CBC— A 45-storey waterfront tower designed by famed architect Bruce Kuwabara took a step closer to fruition Tuesday, with Hamilton city council's planning committee agreeing on a process to move it forward — despite some local objections it will block sight lines of the water, be incompatible with nearby industry and set a precedent for tall buildings that could turn the local waterfront into the "plugged" skylines of Toronto and Burlington....View Article
February 16, 2022
Inflation, interest rates and those troublesome boomers
RENX— Considering how trucker protests and political party leadership changes have dominated headlines recently in Canada, you can be forgiven for failing to notice the other nonsense that’s been making the rounds. Given how much fresh nonsense there is on a daily basis, let me be more specific. I am talking about inflation rates, central bankers and those boomers...View Article
February 15, 2022
Creating ecosystems crucial to boost recovery of Canadian downtowns
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— Things are going to be different downtown when the pandemic is over, but just what the difference will be is still a matter of debate. Everything about downtown areas seems to be open for discussion, from design to the laws that govern what can be built and even what kinds of buildings and businesses belong in the core once lockdowns and restrictions ease...View Article
February 14, 2022
5 Technology Investments Commercial Real Estate Owners Should Make
FORBES— The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way commercial real estate owners and operators do business. Tenants demand the same level of amenities as before but with maximum lease flexibility executed through contactless remote technology. Gone are the days of physical space showings, paper checks and handshakes. Today’s commercial landscape is filled with smart technology, paperless transactions, AI, interconnected monitoring systems and virtual showings to increase efficiency and decrease human interaction. All of these changes invite the question: Is your commercial real estate operation ready to thrive in this new environment, increase its bottom line and grow?..View Article
February 9, 2022
Moving your business during COVID-19: A look at commercial real estate in Lethbridge
GLOBAL NEWS— According to experts, Lethbridge’s commercial real estate market is fairly stable — all things considered. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred some changes. “I haven’t really seen something like this in the last ten years,” said Jillian Chaffee.....View Article
February 4, 2022
Colliers Canada promotes Daniel Holmes to President of Brokerage Services
COLLIERS— Colliers, a leading diversified professional services and investment management company, announced today that Daniel (Dan) Holmes has been promoted to President of Brokerage Services in Canada. After six years, the current President of Brokerage Services Canada, Scott Addison, will step down and transition into a new role as a partner within Colliers’ Strategy and Consulting Group....View Article
February 3, 2022
New signs of wage inflation may force Bank of Canada's hand in raising rates
CBC— Like its counterpart in the United States, the Bank of Canada has said it hopes to slow inflation before large price rises become embedded in the expectations of workers and businesses. But recent examples of not just wage demands, but actual negotiated long-term contracts, seem to hint that early signs of wage inflation may have already begun to emerge in the Canadian labour market...View Article
February 2, 2022
TORONTO SUPERMARKET THAT ONCE OPENED TO MUCH FANFARE HAS PERMANENTLY CLOSED
BLOGTO— Just a few years after it opened its doors, an ambitious Toronto supermarket has shut down for good.Market 63 was Coppa's contribution to the gourmet supermarket game, a massive complex at 1 York that encompassed restaurants, a flower shop, a cafe, a butcher, all kinds of prepared foods, a bakery and groceries.It first opened in 2019 and officially closed less than three years later at the end of January...View Article
February 2, 2022
Canada Home Prices May Fall 20% in Some Markets, Regulator Warns
BLOOMBERG— Property prices in Canada are set to fall as rising interest rates bring an end to a “speculative fever” in the housing market, the country’s banking regulator said on a podcast. An extended run-up in home prices, readily-available mortgages, and a propensity among Canadians to buy and flip homes have all fueled the buying frenzy, Peter Routledge, head of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, said on The Herle Burly podcast on Wednesday...View Article
February 1, 2022
New use pondered for vacant Beltline office building
CBC— The owner of a vacant five-storey office building in Calgary's Beltline area wants to convert it to a self-storage business. The building at 1011 First Street S.W. would still have retail/commercial uses on its ground floor, but the upper floors could become a place where inner city residents could store their Christmas decorations, little used skis, or extra clothes. Office vacancy rates in the Beltline currently run at nearly 25 per cent, according to the latest quarterly report from commercial real estate firm Avison Young...View Article
February 1, 2022
Canadian Net REIT Announces the Acquisition of a Property in Verchères, Qc
FINANCIAL POST— Canadian Net Real Estate Investment Trust (“ Canadian Net ” or the “ Trust ”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 29,904 square-foot retail property in Verchères, Qc. The property is leased to a Metro grocery store, a Brunet pharmacy, and to a National Bank of Canada branch. Total consideration paid was $6,500,000 (excluding transaction costs) and was settled in cash...View Article
February 1, 2022
ONE Properties building 11M sq. ft. in major Canadian cities
RENX— ONE Properties is bullish these days on the Canadian commercial real estate market. The proof is clear: the Edmonton-headquartered firm has close to 11 million square feet of space under development in the Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto regions. ONE has about 6.3 million square feet under construction in Alberta (4.1 million square feet in Edmonton and 2.2 million square feet in Calgary), plus almost 4.3 million square feet in the Toronto area...View Article
January 27, 2022
Epic growth: T.O. firm dramatically expands Ottawa industrial real estate footprint with new deal
OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL— As a commercial real estate executive in Ottawa for nearly three decades, Brian Roberts has seen his share of ebbs and flows in the industry.He vividly remembers the halcyon days of Silicon North in the late 1990s, when, anchored by Nortel, Mitel and other tech titans, Kanata had an office vacancy rate of practically zero. When the dot-com bubble burst, the federal government was there to pick up the slack and give the office sector a boost...View Article
January 26, 2022
Three Commercial Real Estate CEOs Committed To ESG
FORBES— The commercial real estate industry has had a heightened focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives over the last few decades. The COVID-19 pandemic and other global challenges over the last two years have only accelerated that focus on ESG. According to a 2021 trends report issued by PwC US and the Urban Land Institute, 82% of respondents consider ESG elements when making operational or investment real estate decisions. I decided to ask three CEOs in the commercial real estate industry about their commitment to ESG initiatives and why it’s important....View Article
January 26, 2022
Pandemic recovery continues for Lower Mainland commercial real estate
BC BUSINESS— In the third quarter of 2021, sales grew almost 65 percent year-over-year, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reportsJudging from some recent numbers, the Lower Mainland’s commercial real estate market keeps making a good recovery as the COVID-19 pandemic continues...View Article
January 26, 2022
Bank of Canada maintains policy rate, removes exceptional forward guidance
BANK OF CANADA— The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ %, with the Bank Rate at ½ % and the deposit rate at ¼ %. With overall economic slack now absorbed, the Bank has removed its exceptional forward guidance on its policy interest rate. The Bank is continuing its reinvestment phase, keeping its overall holdings of Government of Canada bonds roughly constant...View Article
January 21, 2022
In a first for Ontario, a school in a condo is coming to Toronto’s waterfront
TORONTO STAR— An elementary school planned near Toronto’s waterfront will break new ground — on the third storey of a soon-to-be built condo building.In a first for the province — and believed to be unique in Canada — a “vertical school” will be built into the third floor of the project on Lake Shore Blvd. E., just east of Yonge St., the Star has learned.The Ontario government is set to announce its $44 million contribution for the new school on Friday morning, a partnership between the province, Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and Menkes Developments...View Article
January 20, 2022
Quebec giant buys eight Okanagan retirement resorts
WESTERN INVESTOR— A Quebec-based real estate giant is the new owner of eight retirement resorts in the Okanagan.Cogir Real Estate announced January 4 that it is now the co-owner and manager of seven homes previously owned by Regency Retirement Resorts. It also purchased an eighth, Lakeshore Place, from a local owner...View Article
January 20, 2022
Quebec giant buys eight Okanagan retirement resorts
WESTERN INVESTOR— A Quebec-based real estate giant is the new owner of eight retirement resorts in the Okanagan.Cogir Real Estate announced January 4 that it is now the co-owner and manager of seven homes previously owned by Regency Retirement Resorts. It also purchased an eighth, Lakeshore Place, from a local owner...View Article
January 19, 2022
Jerome Gessaroli: Vancouver needs a more sustainable property-tax policy
VANCOUVER SUN— Vancouver city taxes continue their upward climb. Council voted six to five to increase 2022 property taxes by 6.35 per cent, following a 4.5-per-cent increase in 2019, seven per cent in 2020 and five per cent in 2021. Astonishingly, Mayor Kennedy Stewart characterized this latest hike as “modest.” The actual increases for 2020 and 2021 were even higher, as the city also shifted some of the commercial property tax to residences. The extra taxes due to this shift added one per cent for 2020 and 0.9 per cent for 2021...View Article
January 18, 2022
The lure of single-tenant retail properties
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— While some kinds of retail property have fared better than others during the pandemic, one retail type has proven a clear winner.Stand-alone retail properties, occupied by a corporate client such as a major bank, grocery store or big pharmacy, “have always been a preferred asset for investors, but now we are seeing a notable increase in buyers searching for this type of property,” according to Curtis Leonhardt, vice-president, investments, at commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap in Vancouver...View Article
January 14, 2022
Looking for a warehouse? Don't look in Halifax
SALTWIRE— Halifax remains a tough nut to crack for potential tenants looking to occupy large-scale industrial space. Quarterly figures from commercial real estate firm CBRE show an availability rate of 2.2 per cent, making it “extremely difficult” for tenants to find an entry point into the Halifax industrial market. Help is on the way, though, as CBRE says inventory under construction is set to add just over 113,000 square feet of multi-tenant industrial space to the market this year...View Article
January 14, 2022
Looking for a warehouse? Don't look in Halifax
SALTWIRE— Halifax remains a tough nut to crack for potential tenants looking to occupy large-scale industrial space. Quarterly figures from commercial real estate firm CBRE show an availability rate of 2.2 per cent, making it “extremely difficult” for tenants to find an entry point into the Halifax industrial market. Help is on the way, though, as CBRE says inventory under construction is set to add just over 113,000 square feet of multi-tenant industrial space to the market this year...View Article
January 11, 2022
Your office just might endure because 'real estate is a long game'
FINANCIAL POST— It started with a tingle in my jaw on Wednesday evening. That day, my wife and I had tried to do our jobs while simultaneously monitoring two four-year-olds attending kindergarten via an online Zoom portal — an experience that distracted me from a nagging toothache. The next morning, I headed to my dentist near my old office. Driving through downtown Toronto, past one empty office tower after another, I wondered whether it was time to find a dentist closer to my home...View Article
January 4, 2022
SUSAN UTHAYAKUMAR JOINS PROLOGIS AS CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY OFFICER
PROLOGIS— Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD), the global leader in logistics real estate, has appointed sustainability expert Susan Uthayakumar to the new role of chief sustainability and energy officer. Uthayakumar will lead the company's customer-focused sustainability and energy solutions business. "Susan's proven leadership and experience will be critical to our ongoing innovation and progress on our long-term sustainability goals – and those of our customers," said Prologis Chief Operating Officer Gary E. Anderson...View Article
December 29, 2021
De Blasio Administration Releases Climate Resilience Plan for Financial District and Seaport
NEW YORK CITY GOVERNMENT— Mayor de Blasio, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the Mayor's Office of Climate Resiliency (MOCR) today released the Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan, a blueprint for comprehensive flood defense infrastructure to protect Lower Manhattan from the urgent threat of climate change...View Article
December 14, 2021
‘Mass timber’ movement breaking ground on Ontario’s tallest wood building
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— The movement to build big structures from specially engineered wood, often called mass timber, will get a boost on Tuesday morning when George Brown College breaks ground on what will be Ontario's tallest wood building, funded in part by a $10-million donation from veteran Bay Street deal maker Jack Cockwell...View Article
December 9, 2021
Freed Corp. Closure of $330M Landmark Acquisition of Ontario Resort Properties
STOREYS— Freed Corp. has successfully become the owner of three popular Ontario resort properties, following the closing of a $330 million acquisition. On Thursday, the Toronto-based developer announced its new subsidiary, Freed Hotels & Resorts/Resort Communities LP, acquired Deerhurst Resort, Horseshoe Resort, and the remaining development lands at Blue Mountain Resort — all of which are located within two hours of the Greater Toronto Area.....View Article
December 7, 2021
Turning a power plant site into an environmental showcase
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— A controversial site on the shores of Lake Ontario, once the location of a coal-fired power plant, is being transformed into an environmental showcase, with waterfront destination, with a commercial and residential development and conservation area....View Article
November 29, 2021
Mississauga is about to get the longest pier on Lake Ontario
DAILY HIVE— The City of Mississauga is about to be home to the longest pier on Lake Ontario as part of the upcoming Lakeview Village development. The Mississauga pier, which will span a whopping 600 metres, will also be the longest Canadian pier on all of the Great Lakes. Chicago’s 1,000-metre Navy Pier on Lake Michigan handily beats it out for top spot overall.....View Article
November 24, 2021
Toronto just got its first self-serve department store with no employees
BLOGTO— A major Toronto mall is now home to Toronto's first fully automated store for gifts and specialty items. Dori just opened at the Toronto Eaton Centre on Monday, Nov. 22. The employee-less store carries all kinds of products, including candles, fresh macarons and "cheesecake sticks," "candy sushi," cocktail kits, soaps and teas...View Article
November 23, 2021
The supply chain crisis explained: What B.C. floods, inflation and global shortages mean for Canadians ahead of the holiday season
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— The COVID-19 pandemic has warped global supply chains, leading to product shortages, shipping delays, disruptions to manufacturing and soaring consumer prices that are fuelling concerns about persistently high inflation....View Article
November 23, 2021
Bank of Canada warns of elevated household debt as interest rates are set to rise
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— The Bank of Canada is warning that high levels of household debt taken on during an extended period of low interest rates and a frenzy of real estate investment could destabilize the economy as rates start to rise.Canadians who stretched their finances to buy into the white-hot real estate market are highly exposed to rising debt servicing costs, Bank of Canada deputy governor Paul Beaudry said Tuesday in a speech about the stability of the financial system...View Article
November 23, 2021
Toronto to build world's first digitally-enabled building and then tear it down
BLOGTO— Ryerson University wants to build the first 100 per cent, digitally-enabled building in the world, only to tear it down in the years to come.Detailed back in March in a funding announcement, the Ryerson University Smart Campus Integration and Testing Hub (SCIT Hub) would "enable the exploration and testing of 'smart building' products and management strategies" that could help in offsetting climate change...View Article
November 22, 2021
Black Canadians have some of the lowest home ownership rates in Canada, Statscan says
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— Black Canadians and the LGBTQ population have some of the lowest home ownership rates in Canada, according to new government studies that attempt to quantify how various groups are faring in the country’s housing market.Only 48 per cent of the Black population and 47 per cent of the LGBTQ community lived in a home that was owned by a household member in 2018, according to Statistics Canada. In comparison, the national home ownership rate of the population was 73 per cent...View Article
November 22, 2021
Alberta apartment building owner hopes to set precedent with COVID-19 vaccine requirement
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— An Alberta-based rental housing provider says it hopes to set a precedent with its decision to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination from new tenants.Strategic Group – which owns more than 1,500 one- and two-bedroom suites in rental apartment buildings in Edmonton and Calgary – says it believes it is the first major landlord in Canada to implement a vaccine requirement for new tenants...View Article
November 21, 2021
More condos coming to one of Toronto's Most Condo-packed neighbourhoods
BLOGTO— The skyline of Midtown Toronto is dotted with cranes as the area's condo-ification rages on and just keeps on packing those units in.And if you're an area resident tired of all the noisy construction and rising home prices, it's only going to get worse with even bigger, taller projects in the works....View Article
November 20, 2021
A Developer wants to float condos high above a Toronto heritage building
BLOGTO— Condos are being proposed in Toronto at an outrageous rate right now, as these floodgates are set to close next year when new inclusionary zoning rules kick in.For now, the proposals just keep pouring in, one of the latest seeking to add two towers to the site of an existing heritage building in the Yonge and Davenport area...View Article
November 19, 2021
HERE'S WHAT Could replace the iconic phoenix concert theatre in toronto
BLOGTO— It was revealed earlier in November that the Phoenix Concert Theatre's days are numbered, and we're now getting a first glimpse at what could replace the venerable concert venue in the years to come.The popular spot for local music and drag shows is proposed to be replaced, along with the medical centre north of it, by a 39-storey residential development that would tower 132 metres above Sherbourne Street in the Cabbagetown-South St. James Town neighbourhood...View Article
November 18, 2021
RENT PRICES IN THIS SMALL ONTARIO CITY HAVE RISEN BY AN ASTONISHING 25% SINCE LAST YEAR
BLOGTO— Only one of Ontario's 24 most populous cities can still boast an average one-bedroom rent price below the $1,200 mark. Ironically, it's this same city where rent prices are rising fastest among the entire group.Windsor, Ontario, is quickly rising up the ranks on Zumper's national rent report, jumping from spot number 17 to spot number 16 this November with a 5.3 per cent month-over-month increase....View Article
November 18, 2021
Big investors lack confidence in ESG promises
THE GLOBE AND MAIL— Institutional investors made a gargantuan splash at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, with their intentions to put mountains of money to work pushing the world toward the goal of net-zero carbon emissions. But they have a problem – the grand ambition relies on the companies in which they invest developing and sticking to credible environmental, social and governance plans, with climate strategies being paramount. As it stands, big investors have very little confidence in them, a new survey has found...View Article
November 12, 2021
ONTARIO CITY SEEs huge increase in rent prices after toronto exodus
BLOGTO— The cost to rent an apartment is increasing in Toronto along with everything else in Canada .The average rent in October for all property types in Canada was up 1.6 per cent year over year to $1,800, the first annual percentage increase this year, according to the latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research & Consulting...View Article
November 11, 2021
Amazon adds 'upstream' warehouse layer to feed fulfilment centres
THE LOADSTAR— Amazon is to insert an extra layer of warehousing in its parcel distribution infrastructure, between its fulfilment and distribution centres.It has started trials with clients of its Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) programme, feeding fulfilment centres “from upstream, for more seamless replenishment”...View Article
November 11, 2021
This Colorado community was proof an all-electric, net-zero future is possible. Now that vision is under siege
CNN— Dar-Lon Chang once held out hope that the fossil fuel industry would pivot to clean energy.As a former engineer at an oil company in Houston, Chang said he conducted research on natural gas -- then considered a "bridge fuel" to transition to renewables -- and found cleaner ways to extract and use fossil fuels. Chang worked there for more than 15 years but said not only was his research on cleaner extraction not used, his concerns about the climate crisis were dismissed...View Article
November 3, 2021
Flood-impact map a Canadian first
WESTERN UNIVERSITY— A Western University flood-control expert has developed the first Canada-wide maps showing how floodplains – including low-lying areas of major cities like Vancouver and Montreal – may become inundated in the next 80 years under various climate change scenarios...View Article
November 1, 2021
Demand for all types of industrial product continues to outpace supply, while office focuses on health and safety improvements
ALTUS GROUP— Economic activity and employment levels are beginning to adjust to pandemic changes as vaccination rates increase and lockdown restrictions begin to incrementally ease. The ability for remote work has led to added jobs, particularly in the professional, scientific, technical, and financial services sectors and largely in Ontario and BC...View Article
October 29, 2021
How are Canadian portfolio managers preparing for higher interest rates? We asked four of them
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—How are Canadian portfolio managers preparing for higher interest rates? We asked four of them....View Article
October 27, 2021
H&R REIT to hive off mall portfolio it paid billions to acquire, undoing a decade of business strategy
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—H&R Real Estate Investment Trust is undoing its business strategy from the better part of the past decade, with plans to spin out its ...View Article
October 27, 2021
In condo land, COVID-19 vaccine rules are hazy
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—When it comes to public-health rules aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, condominium corporations in Ontario are being left to decide on their own if there’s any difference between a gym in a strip mall and one inside an apartment complex. That’s because the consensus in the legal community that advises the 12,000 condominium corporations in Ontario is that the rules for proof of vaccination to access indoor spaces don’t apply to the province’s approximately 1.8 million condo residents – unless condo boards decide they want them to...View Article
October 26, 2021
Energy crisis will set off social unrest, private-equity billionaire warns
CNN BUSINESS—Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman warned Tuesday that high energy prices will likely set off social unrest around the world."We're going to end up with a real shortage of energy. And when you have a shortage, it's going to cost more. And it's probably going to cost a lot more," the private-equity billionaire told CNN International's Richard Quest at a conference in Saudi Arabia...View Article
October 24, 2021
Can architecture fix a downtown? Design experts share their vision for a reimagined Calgary
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—“Right now, downtown Calgary is a ghost town,” said architect Kevin Harrison, principal at Calgary’s Sturgess Architecture. The problem, he said, begins with the area’s history as a nine-to-five office district. What can architecture do about that? Quite a lot...View Article
October 18, 2021
Ivanhoé Cambridge to Open First Flexible Office Solution at Campus PVM in Montreal
IVANHOÉ CAMBRIDGE—Ivanhoé Cambridge is proud to announce that starting Spring 2022, Place Ville Marie (PVM), one of Montreal’s most iconic and prestigious real estate complexes, will offer an innovative flexible workspace solution to its tenants. Located on the 29th floor of 1 PVM, the 11,000-square-foot space will provide a high-quality hospitality experience within a user-centric and connected environment designed to foster collaboration and creativity within its community...View Article
October 6, 2021
Ivanhoé Cambridge converts C$8.5 billion of corporate financing by indexing it to its ESG performance
IVANHOÉ CAMBRIDGE—Further to the announcement of its new strategy to have a carbon-neutral portfolio by 2040, Ivanhoé Cambridge is converting its corporate program of term loans and lines of credit by indexing them to its ESG (environmental, social, governance) performance. This ambitious initiative will enable the Company to align its financing activities with its sustainable investment priorities...View Article
October 4, 2021
INDIGO Partners with bird canada: bird e-scooters now available at indigo parking locations
INDIGO—Toronto-based Bird Canada and INDIGO Canada are pleased to announce the launch of their national partnership, which provides dockless scooters for pickup at select INDIGO locations, as well as charging sites for e-scooter infrastructure...View Article
October 20, 2021
The hard reality of increased density in Toronto
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—As housing prices continue to rise in Canada's big cities the debate on how to tackle affordability often boils down to where, how and when to build more homes in existing neighbourhoods. And you wonder why we have a housing crisis.”...View Article
October 19, 2021
Sweeping housing legislation could reshape New Zealand cities for decades to come
THE GUARDIAN—New Zealand’s cities could be reshaped for decades to come, after the government joined forces with the opposition to announce sweeping bipartisan housing legislation that aims to counter urban sprawl and boost supply by up to 105,000 new homes in the next eight years....View Article
October 19, 2021
Understanding child-friendly urban design
BROOKINGS METRO—More than half of the world’s children are growing up in cities. By 2030, up to 60 percent of the world’s urban population will be under 18 years old. Yet, children and families are often invisible to urban planners, developers, and architects when creating city-wide policies that impact transportation, air and noise pollution, and health and well-being...View Article
October 11, 2021
Landlord opposes CCAA restructuring by celebrity chef Mark McEwan
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—First Capital Holdings (Ontario) Corp. says McEwan Enterprises should be required to test the market by undergoing a sale process for the...View Article
October 11, 2021
Vancouver’s near zero vacancy forces out industrial business
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—Relentless demand for industrial space in Vancouver has pushed the vacancy rate to yet another record low. At just 0.5 per cent, this year marks the first time vacancy has plunged below 1 per cent, according to a new report by Colliers...View Article
October 11, 2021
PODCAST: Can we break the middle class of their addiction to sprawl?
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—A generation ago, a middle-class income could buy you a detached home in a big city. Now? Folks are finding they need to set their sights further and further away from any downtown centre if they want to hold fast to that dream. But as populations and climate emergencies rise, experts tell us that urban densification is the necessary path forward. So what do cities have to do to retain the middle-class?...View Article
September 22, 2021
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan buys alternative mortgage lender
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has acquired HomeEquity Bank, Canada's largest provider of reverse mortgages. HomeEquity Bank says under...View Article
September 22, 2021
Concord Adex takes last Cresford property, plans 95-storey tower
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—Vancouver-based developer Concord Adex has received court approval to take out of bankruptcy the project formerly known as YSL Residences,..View Article
September 21, 2021
OMERS, CPPIB sell New York property to Google for US$2.1-billion
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—Google Inc. will spend US$2.1-billion to buy a New York development from Oxford Properties, giving the real estate arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System what it believes are the two biggest office-building sales announced this year...View Article
September 20, 2021
Berlin’s bold proposal for surging rents: Evict the landlords
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—Faced with a growing affordability crisis, Berlin will ask voters this month to consider a radical housing decision: whether or not to evict .....View Article
September 19, 2021
The global housing market is broken, and it's dividing entire countries
BNN BLOOMBERG—Soaring property prices are forcing people all over the world to abandon all hope of owning a home. The fallout is shaking governments of all political persuasions.It’s a phenomenon given wings by the pandemic. And it’s not just buyers — rents are also soaring in many cities. The upshot is the perennial issue of housing costs has become one of acute housing inequality, and an entire generation is at risk of being left behind...View Article
September 16, 2021
Five charts that reveal the geography of the AI economy
BROOKINGS METRO—Earlier this month, Brookings Metro published a data-driven snapshot of the growth and geography of the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) economy in the United States.Employing seven basic measures of AI research and commercial activity, the report benchmarked U.S. metropolitan areas on the basis of their core AI assets and capabilities as they stand now. Here, we look at the report’s most important takeaways through five charts...View Article
September 9, 2021
London's financial workers flock back to office in hot commuter crush
REUTERS—There's no free lunch in finance - except when banks are wooing workers back to the office.London's financial sector, keen to return to a semblance of normality after the worst of the pandemic, is leading the charge to encourage employees back to their old lives, with some companies even offering free food and social events...View Article
September 8, 2021
Vancouver sustainable builder Nexii marks unicorn status with new funding round
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—A Vancouver-based company that constructs energy-efficient buildings using a unique cement-like material has closed an equity financing that...View Article
September 6, 2021
Welcome to the era of the Great Office Unknowing
WIRED—For the past 18 months, Sam has fine-tuned their ideal work-life balance. Morning Zoom calls are bookended by home gym workouts and restorative coffee breaks. After a morning deeply focused on projects, they take a 90-minute lunch break to decompress, walk the dog and ready themselves for an afternoon of admin. The laptop is never open beyond 5.30pm...View Article
August 24, 2021
Ivanhoé Cambridge and JLL enter strategic alliance for Canadian retail operations
JLL—Two global leaders in commercial real estate have come to an agreement to operate retail assets through a unified approach. On October 1, 2021, Ivanhoé Cambridge will transition the operations of its Canadian shopping centres over to JLL (NYSE: JLL), the largest third-party retail property management company in North America...View Article
August 20, 2021
Modern living: “It’s very normal for wealthy people to rent”
NATIONAL POST—From a distance, the 2Fifteen construction site resembles that of any high-rise condo project in the city. But a closer inspection reveals a key difference. Atop the hoardings, a newly installed banner announces “luxury rentals.”..View Article
August 19, 2021
Peter Ballon Appointed as ULI’s New Global Chair
URBAN LAND INSTITUTE—Peter Ballon, global head of real estate for CPP Investments, has been appointed as the new global chair of the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Ballon will serve on a voluntary basis for a two-year term and will provide member leadership as the Institute focuses on three new global mission priorities: decarbonization, education, and housing...View Article
August 19, 2021
Burnaby property sold for $70m profit now eyed as region’s largest rental project
BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER—While purpose-built market rental construction has been slow in recent years, Metro Vancouver condominium developers have started to pivot towards rental construction, according to Mark Goodman of Goodman Commercial, who publishes the Goodman Report on the multi-family market with partner Cynthia Jagger...View Article
August 17, 2021
Oxford Properties to Buy $2.2 Billion in Industrial Properties From KKR
WALL STREET JOURNAL—Canadian real-estate-investment giant Oxford Properties Group has agreed to buy a 14.5 million-square-foot portfolio of industrial property from KKR & Co. for $2.2 billion, a deal that indicates that the online-shopping boom continues to whet investor appetite for warehouses and distribution facilities...View Article
August 16, 2021
Condo market rebound in Canada’s biggest cities has further to go, fuelled by rental demand
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—Condominium markets in some of Canada’s biggest cities have rebounded strongly this year, and agents and analysts say the market could once again return to prepandemic red-hot conditions as rental demand surges and inventories evaporate.The condo market, which had been hot for years, cooled quickly last year during the pandemic as investors fled, spooked by the exodus of renters from cities to live with families or find cheaper places elsewhere...View Article
August 14, 2021
New Leases On Life: Malls Converting To Fulfillment Centers, Other Non-Retail Uses
FORBES—Plagued in recent years with a downturn in sales and foot traffic, malls have found novel ways to stay in business.Given ecommerce and COVID-19 restrictions, some have begun converting their retail space into mini-fulfillment centers for ecommerce orders...View Article
August 13, 2021
There’s a (work)place for us
AVISON YOUNG—Of all the uncertainty wrought during COVID-19 pandemic, none has been greater than that surrounding the future of work—especially the knowledge work that has been performed in office buildings for most of the past century. Whether it should have been or not, the success of remote work was a revelation. Collectively, we learned that “going to work” does not have to mean commuting to an office building...View Article
August 13, 2021
Canada Adds Most New Residents in Years as Restrictions Ease
BLOOMBERG—Canada welcomed the largest number of newcomers in years in July amid an improving Covid-19 backdrop, which allowed the government to begin easing travel restrictions for new arrivals. The nation admitted 39,500 permanent residents during the month, according to the immigration ministry. That’s the highest monthly total since at least 2015 and is on top of the nearly 35,700 permanent residents in June...View Article
August 13, 2021
Sun Life to require COVID-19 vaccination for employees volunteering to return to office
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—Insurance giant becomes one of the first federeally regulated financial institutions to mandate vaccinations for its staff...View Article
August 12, 2021
The running list of major retail deals in 2021
RETAILDRIVE—Last year, several retailers inked deals in the form of partnerships, acquisitions and initial public offerings, among other things.Retail Ecommerce Ventures snapped up the IPs of bankrupt retailers, including Pier 1, Modell's and Stein Mart. VF Corp — the owner of Vans, The North Face and Timberland — acquired cult-favorite streetwear label Supreme for $2.1 billion. And several companies went public, including DTC darling Casper, resale platform Poshmark and pet specialty retailer Petco....View Article
August 6, 2021
Remote work has changed Canadians’ willingness to commute
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—Canadians spent an average of 24 minutes travelling to work in 2016, but a new poll says only 12 per cent of those surveyed are willing to commute for longer than 15 minutes daily post-pandemic...View Article
August 5, 2021
Amazon is delaying its return to office until 2022
CNN BUSINESS—Amazon on Thursday pushed back its office return date until early next year amid a surge in Covid-19 cases from the Delta variant, making it one of the most significant delays yet in the tech industry.The online retail giant's corporate workers in multiple countries, including the United States, were originally slated to start coming back to the office by September 7, but that date has now been moved to January 3, 2022, Amazon (AMZN) told CNN Business...View Article
August 3, 2021
H&R REIT sells Calgary’s signature skyscraper, the Bow, to repay debt during city’s office doldrums
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—H&R REIT sells Calgary's signature skyscraper, the Bow, to repay debt during city's office doldrums. As part of the complex deal, H&R will retain a 15-per-cent exposure to Ovintiv's lease payments in the Bow, which are fixed until 2038 under a long-term contract that was signed when the building was under construction....View Article
August 3, 2021
Can wood act as a magnet for talent as office life resumes?
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—Architects are touting the allure of workplaces built from wood as a way to attract talent, at a time when the desire to return to offices remains uncertain.The aesthetics of wood offices are viewed as a recruitment tool, says Patrick Fejér, principal at B+H Architects. “Clients are recognizing the appeal of mass timber to attract tenants and end users who are seeking a social and environmentally responsible workplace...View Article
August 2, 2021
Point Grey mansion sets record in Greater Vancouver with $42-million sale
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—The mansion belonged to prominent philanthropists Joseph and Rosalie Segal.Because it’s an exclusive market that demands privacy, details of the sale are not public, listing agent Christa Frosch said. She would not say how long the home took to sell, but there are previous reports that it had been on the market in 2017 for $63-million....View Article
July 27, 2021
After more than a decade of sitting empty, an industrial landmark prepares for its makeover
THE GLOBE AND MAIL—After the former Budd Automotive parts maker closed in 2008, the sprawling 70-acre site in Kitchener, Ont. had to wait for its makeover.Over the past decade, the property received an $8.6-million environmental cleanup, but plans for big-box retail and other development never materialized. This year, with new owners, the property’s focus is back on industrial users who, in today’s digital economy, put a premium on access to skilled workers in deciding where to locate...View Article
July 26, 2021
E-commerce and Resident Delivery for Canadian Multi-Family Buildings — Challenges and Opportunities Before and After the Pandemic
SNAILE—Minto Apartments, 1VALET, and Snaile team up to streamline parcel managementThe pandemic continues to solidify and accelerate existing economic trends. The e-commerce industry experienced solid growth prior to COVID-19 and has emerged as one of few global success stories in the wake of the pandemic. A May 2021 study by Statista Research Department showed that Canada experienced a 6.5% growth in retail e-commerce in 2018 and an 8.1% growth in 2019.....View Article
July 13, 2021
Canada Commits to 40-45% Emissions Reduction by 2030
ESGToday—The Government of Canada announced that it has formally submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations, committing the country to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40% – 45% by 2030, on a 2005 base....View Article
July 13, 2021
City of North Van approves rental building with no resident parking
NORTH SHORE NEWS—City of North Vancouver council has approved an all-rental building and childcare facility in Lower Lonsdale with no parking for residents, a first of its kind in the modern era.The six-storey project at 133 East Fourth St. from Three Shores Development includes 23 rental homes, three of which will be offered at below-market rates. The site is currently home to the Gospel Hall church.Unique to the project is the zero underground parking spaces for residents or visitors....View Article
July 13, 2021
Where the tech talent pool is growing
AXIOS—There are emerging hubs all over the U.S. and Canada pulling tech talent away from the superstar cities — but the tech centers are holding onto their dominance, according to a new analysis from the commercial real estate firm CBRE.....View Article
July 7, 2021
Science confirms it: Open offices are a nightmare
FAST COMPANY—If you’ve ever felt your noisy open-plan office makes you cranky and sends your heart racing, our new research shows you aren’t imagining it. Prior to the pandemic 70% of office-based employees worked in open-plan offices. Employee complaints about this design are rife. Yet there is little experimental research investigating the effects of office noise on things like cognitive performance, physiological stress, and mood.....View Article
June 29, 2021
Partnering with Mount Auburn Multifamily to develop US multi-residential projects
IVANHOÉ CAMBRIDGE—Ivanhoé Cambridge and Mount Auburn Multifamily have formed a programmatic joint venture to invest in preferred equity for ground-up multifamily developments throughout the U.S. In a context where the lack of housing can be an issue in some cities, the venture is aimed at developers to provide an easy path to complete their capital structures and bring more housing to the market...View Article
June 24, 2021
Are longer lease terms a sign of rebounding confidence in Canada’s office market?
AVISON YOUNG—More than 15 months after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the country is starting to make some real progress toward a future return to “normal”. With more than 66% of the population having received at least one dose of a vaccine (as of June 21st), the prospect of a meaningful re-opening is getting closer to reality in many parts of the country....View Article
June 17, 2021
Cold storage heating up
AVISON YOUNG—Recently I had the opportunity to provide some thoughts for an article published on the Canadian Property Management website (part of the REMI Network) on the topic of cold storage facilities. This asset class is flagged to deliver robust returns to investors due to the evolution of food retailing, demand for vaccines and other pharmaceuticals, and the thriving outlook for the warehouse/distribution and logistics sector in general....View Article
June 16, 2021
Google’s first retail store is the anti-Apple
FAST COMPANY—Twenty-two years into its existence, Google is finally launching its first brick-and-mortar store tomorrow morning....View Article
June 15, 2021
Lumber prices plunge 40 percent since May's record high
WOODWORKING NETWORK—Lumber prices have fallen below $1,000 per thousand board feet for the first time since March. Prices have now dropped 40 percent since May's record high....View Article
June 16, 2021
BILLIONAIRES BACK STARTUP THAT wants to let anyone be a landlord
BNN BLOOMBERG—Jeff Bezos and Marc Benioff are backing a startup that lets regular people invest small amounts of money in single-family rental properties, as the pandemic-fueled housing market continues to attract a flood of capital....View Article
June 15, 2021
Toronto retail scene shows signs of life. But there’s 'shrinkage'
BNN BLOOMBERG—The brick and mortar retail scene in Toronto is coming back to life. Commercial real estate services firm CBRE says there’s been a “huge” increase in retail leasing and sales activity over the past two months as retailers see light at the end of the tunnel and prepare for the post-COVID era...View Article
June 14, 2021
The Psychological Benefits of Commuting to Work
THE ATLANTIC—Many people who have been working from home are experiencing a void they can’t quite name....View Article
June 14, 2021
Fed-Up Young Workers Fear They Need Offices to Save Their Careers
BLOOMBERG—Fed-Up Young Workers Fear They Need Offices to Save Their Careers...View Article
June 11, 2021
Kid-Friendly Amenities Are Sailing Into High-End Condominiums
FORBES—The pandemic-era work-from-home movement did more than spark an interest in home offices and homework nooks. It spawned increased offerings of kid-friendly amenities at luxury residential properties across the country...View Article
June 11, 2021
Massive new office complex in toronto will set high standard for post-lockdown work life
BLOG TO—It's been nearly 15 months since hundreds of thousands of office workers in Toronto have seen their regular desks, co-workers or mid-commute snack stops in the downtown core....View Article
June 11, 2021
What the World’s Most Successful Real Estate Investor Is Buying
BLOOMBERG—Blackstone Group Inc. President Jon Gray has some advice for investors looking to make sense of the wild real estate market in the U.S: Don’t fear a bust anytime soon......View Article
June 11, 2021
How to Reopen Offices Safely
NY TIMES—For the last 15 months, many American offices sat essentially empty. Conference rooms and cubicles went unused, elevators uncalled, files untouched.....View Article
June 10, 2021
Inflation the wild card as Canada’s pandemic recovery looms: Tal
RENX—For much of his economic update during the virtual Land and Development conference this week, CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal had a familiar optimistic theme. But, he also injected a stronger note of caution than in past updates......View Article
June 10, 2021
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LEADERS NATIONWIDE RAISE $1 MILLION TO HELP DEFEAT THE TYPE 1 DIABETES MONSTER
JDRF—To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, JDRF launched the $100M Campaign to Accelerate – a bold initiative to help finally free people from the monster that is type 1 diabetes (T1D)......View Article
June 9, 2021
Top 7 ways to improve last-mile delivery
TECHTARGET—Consumers want what they want -- and quickly. To keep their business, companies must find new, creative ways to improve their last-mile delivery strategy and meet customer expectations.....View Article
June 9, 2021
Amazon now says remote work OK 2 days a week
AP—Corporate and tech employees at Amazon won’t have to work in offices full time after coronavirus restrictions are lifted.....View Article
June 8, 2021
Canada’s office sublet market – turning the corner?
Avison Young—During this hiatus from the physical office and ongoing debate as to what the post-pandemic workplace will look like, companies of all sizes and industry types have indeed flooded the market with millions of square feet of sublease space....View Article
June 7, 2021
Tricon Announces Inclusion in the FTSE EPRA Nareit Global Developed Index
Tricon—Tricon Residential Inc. (“Tricon” or the “Company”) (TSX:TCN), an owner and operator of single-family rental homes and multi-family rental apartments in the United States and Canada, is pleased to announce its inclusion in the
FTSE EPRA Nareit Global Developed Index (the “Index”) effective as of the close of business on June 18, 2021......View Article
June 6, 2021
Oxford Invests in Cambridge to Extend Global Life Sciences Platform with First European Acquisition
Oxford Properties—Oxford Properties Group (“Oxford”), a leading global real estate investor, asset manager and business builder, has extended its global life sciences platform with the acquisition of 310 Cambridge Science Park, United Kingdom, its first investment in the sector in Europe.....View Article
June 3, 2021
Fitch Assigns Initial 'AAA'/'F1+' Ratings to Public Sector Pension Investment Board; Outlook Stable
Invest PSP—Fitch Ratings has assigned a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'AAA' and a Short-Term IDR of 'F1+' to Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) and its debt-issuing subsidiary, PSP Capital, Inc.....View Article
June 2, 2021
CONDO LOBBIES ARE GETTING BURIED UNDER MOUNTAINS OF HOME DELIVERIES
National Post—Package delivery has more than doubled during the pandemic. For condo operators, that’s presenting obstacles, and opportunities.....View Article
May 31, 2021
California eyes shuttered malls, stores for new housing
AP News—California state lawmakers are grappling with a particularly 21st-century problem: What to do with the growing number of shopping malls and big box retail stores left empty by consumers shifting their purchases to the web......View Article
May 27, 2021
once a canadian startup darling, flexible workspace provider breather sell most assets for $3-million
The Globe and Mail—Breather Products Inc., a Montreal startup that raised more than US$150-million to build a global flexible workspace operator, is selling most of its assets for US$3-million.....View Article
May 27, 2021
younger new yorkers prop up lagging rental market
Wall Street Journal—Young families led an exodus out of New York City during the pandemic. College students and recent graduates are leading a return.....View Article
May 25, 2021
new condo apartment sales in gta sees a record-high april
Atlus Group—Condominium apartments, including units in low, medium and high-rise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units, accounted for 3,619 new home sales in April. It was the highest number......View Article
May 22, 2021
should landlords be licensed?
Jonas Bordo—In early May, the city of Denver passed a law that requires all long term rentals to be licensed.The justification is that it will improve professionalism and hold landlords to a higher standard.....View Article
May 20, 2021
big city rental markets turned corner in may and experts expect prices will rise
The Globe and Mail—When Meleah Bennett started looking for a place to live in Toronto last autumn, she was hoping to act before rental rates picked up post-pandemic.....View Article
May 19, 2021
Skyscrapers Rising Next to Vacant Towers Mark New City of London
Bloomberg—The pandemic has led to plenty of empty space, but developers are still betting big on the future of the office in the financial hub.....View Article
May 18, 2021
THE SECOND-LARGEST Country in the world is running out of land
Bloomberg—Canada’s housing market is running hotter than just about anywhere else in the world......View Article
May 18, 2021
Artis REIT awards investment contract to CEO’s own private equity firm, blurring lines between the two businesses
The Globe and Mail—Artis Real Estate Investment Trust is awarding an investment management contract to Sandpiper Group, a private equity firm run by Artis’s chief executive officer, even though Sandpiper won an activist campaign against the REIT’s former board of directors that centred on alleged conflicts of interest.....View Article
May 17, 2021
THE RISING COSTS OF FUEL AND IT'S INFLUENCE ON INDUSTRIAL
Avison Young—Signs of inflation are heating up while there is continued pressure on supply chains to meet demand and manage costs.....View Article
May 17, 2021
Microsoft buying land and retail in the GTA? What’s up with that?
Avison Young—When you think of Microsoft in the context of commercial real estate, you think of them as a global technology player and as an occupier in gleaming downtown high-rise office towers or sprawling suburban office campuses. However, Microsoft Canada recently pivoted from occupier to investor – acquiring a parcel of land and a retail property a month apart in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This has raised the question: Why?.....View Article
May 10, 2021
Giant Tiger discount chain expanding, plans to increase store count to 300
The Globe and Mail—Giant Tiger Stores Ltd. is planning to expand its footprint as demand for discount products surges amid the pandemic. The retailer has plans to increase its store count to 300 across the country, up from its current 259 locations, and is investing upgrades for both e-commerce and stores.....View Article
May 5, 2021
No Vaccine, No Desk: Firms Weigh Whether to Make Shots Mandatory
Bloomberg—Mondelez International Inc., the maker of Ritz Crackers and Trident gum, wants to start welcoming workers back to office this summer, though with a caveat -- they must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.....View Article
May 4, 2021
Goldman Readies June Return to Office, Vanguard Goes Hybrid
Bloomberg—Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s top brass has formulated a plan to have U.S. and U.K. employees return to offices next month as Wall Street’s march back to its skyscrapers gathers pace.....View Article
May 4, 2021
Extending a helping hand: Canada’s 2021 budget and CRE
Avison Young—The Government of Canada unveiled its 2021 budget: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience on April 19, 2021 – its first budget in two years. As expected, the budget is aimed at supporting businesses during the pandemic and, more importantly, getting the country on the road to post-pandemic recovery.....View Article
May 3, 2021
EU Wants To Open Up Travel For Vaccinated Tourists
Forbes—The European Commission on Monday proposed easing travel restrictions on foreign citizens who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, as the bloc attempts to revive the region’s tourism industry that has been devastated by the pandemic.....View Article
May 2, 2021
Sephora plans bricks-and-mortar expansion in Canada
The Globe and Mail—Cosmetics retailer Sephora is planning to open nearly 50 stores in Canada in the next two to three years, increasing its bricks-and-mortar presence in this country by roughly 60 per cent.....View Article
April 29, 2021
HARVARD DEVELOPMENT GETS MONEY FROM DIVERSIFYING ONTARIO PENSION
Bloomberg—Ontario’s public fund manager is investing in a new research campus at Harvard University, part of a wider effort to diversify its real estate holdings and gain more exposure to the U.S. market.....View Article
April 23, 2021
FUND NEWS ADVISORS CAN USE: EARTH DAY BRINGS CLIMATE CHANGE INVESTING INTO FOCUS
WealthManagement.com—The world celebrated Earth Day on Thursday, and in conjunction, Morningstar released its first global report on climate-focused funds. The report found that global climate-themed fund assets nearly tripled in one year to $177 billion in total assets as of December 2020. The report addresses products from Europe, the U.S., Canada and Asia Pacific.....View Article
April 23, 2021
EIGHT MUST READS FOR THE CRE INDUSTRY TODAY (APR. 23, 2021)
WealthManagement.com—The Biden administration is looking more closely at ways to update the Opportunity Zone program, reports The New York Times. Chief Investment Officer delves into where the best real estate investment opportunities currently are. These are among today’s must reads from around the commercial real estate industry.....View Article
April 22, 2021
10 MUST READS FOR THE CRE INDUSTRY TODAY (APRIL 22, 2021)
WealthManagement.com—Propmodo looked at nine examples of real estate firms adopting artificial intelligence to help optimize processes. Law.com looks at how force majeure clauses in leases have evolved in the wake of COVID-19. These are among today’s must reads from around the commercial real estate industry......View Article
April 22, 2021
MAPLETREE EXPLORES $1 BILLION STUDENT HOUSING REIT IPO
Bloomberg—Mapletree Investments Pte, a property developer and manager, is exploring listing a student housing real estate investment trust in Singapore that could raise about $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.....View Article
April 12, 2021
Ameriprise Financial to Acquire Bank of Montreal’s EMEA Asset Management Business
WealthManagement.com—Ameriprise Financial announced Monday it had agreed to acquire the Bank of Montreal’s (BMO) asset management business focusing on Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for $845 million.The transaction, which helps BMO with its stated strategy of offloading noncore assets, adds some $124 billion in assets, mostly in Europe, to Ameriprise.....View Article
April 6, 2021
10 Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today
WealthManagement.com—Big corporate tenants are staying in city centers, but they are downsizing and looking for bargain rents, reports the Wall Street Journal. Curbed asks whether the Compass IPO is just another iteration of the WeWork story. These are among today’s must reads from around the commercial real estate industry.....View Article
April 6, 2021
Warehouse Space Seen Running Out in Canada by the End of 2021
Bloomberg—Canada is in danger of running out of warehouse space by the end of the year, thanks to the boom in e-commerce sparked by the pandemic.While a near-record 26.1 million square feet (2.4 million square meters) of logistics real estate is under construction, much of it is already leased....View Article
April 6, 2021
“Checking in” with Canada’s Hospitality Sector
Avison Young—The Canadian hospitality market was hit harder than most other commercial real estate asset classes during 2020. Given that the industry relies on business and leisure travel, conferences and human interaction, it is no surprise that it has been severely challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic.....View Article
April 5, 2021
Seven Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today
WealthManagement.com—The Wall Street Journal looks at how investors in the single-family rental market are snapping up a significant share of houses on the market. A major skyscraper in London is on sale—providing a test for the appetite for office investment, reports Daily Business. These are among today’s must reads from around the commercial real estate industry......View Article
March 29, 2021
Will the GTA multi-residential market be impacted by an “urban exodus”?
Avison Young—One of the most-discussed topics at the moment in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) multi-residential real estate market is whether the emerging trend of residents exiting the downtown core for more spacious or affordable suburban options will continue beyond the end of the pandemic. A major contributor to this trend has been the option, for many office workers, to work from home. Will work-from-home become the new standard, making people less inclined to live near their workplace?.....View Article
March 18, 2021
BulkCondoDeals Expands With Global Partnership
Business Wire—While New York and Miami are two of the leading condo markets in the US, Toronto has been the leading city in North America for new condo production, with 68,000 units sold in the last three years and over 70,000 units currently under construction. In order to secure this international developer inventory for the bulk condo marketplace, the Company has entered into an exclusive partnership with PMA Capital Solutions, the capital markets division of PMA Brethour Realty Group (PMA).....View Article
March 17, 2021
Will work from home outlast virus? Ford’s move suggests yes
AP News—On Wednesday, one of America’s corporate titans, Ford Motor Co., supplied its own answer: It told about 30,000 of its employees worldwide who have worked from home that they can continue to do so indefinitely, with flexible hours approved by their managers. Their schedules will become a work-office “hybrid”: They’ll commute to work mainly for group meetings and projects best-suited for face-to-face interaction.....View Article
March 16, 2021
Dream wins Oxford Properties backing for new impact fund
Avison Young—Toronto-based real estate manager Dream Unlimited’s open-ended vehicle marks the Canadian investor’s first impact fund investment.....View Article
March 15, 2021
The Housing Boom That Never Ends Already Wiped Out All the Short-Sellers
Bloomberg—In December, Aaron Moore bought an unremarkable three-bedroom house in the Toronto suburb of Brampton and, after throwing on a fresh coat of paint and laying down new hardwood floors, put it right back on the market.In March, he found a buyer. The price tag: C$810,000 (about $649,000), a stunning 28% more than he had just paid.......View Article
March 15, 2021
Canada's CI Financial Buys 16th U.S. RIA
WealthManagement.com—Canadian investment management firm CI Financial continued its aggressive push into the U.S. market with the acquisition of Atlanta-based registered investment advisor Brightworth, the firms announced Monday.Brightworth marks the third acquisition the Canadian company has made in 2021 and the 16th since entering the U.S. wealth management market in January 2020, pushing CI Financial's U.S. business to $55 billion in assets under management......View Article
March 15, 2021
Avison Young signs an agreement to acquire Montreal-based Devencore
Avison Young—Avison Young has signed an agreement to combine its operations with Devencore’s operations in Montreal, creating one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the region. The combined business will operate under the Avison Young brand. The deal is expected to close at the end of March. The move brings together Devencore’s 70 real estate advisor and broker professionals with Avison Young’s 30 real estate professionals in Montreal, resulting in a 100-person team with diverse breadth and depth of experience to deliver innovation and insights to clients.....View Article
March 15, 2021
Walmart Canada closing six stores, investing $500-million to upgrade others
The Canadian Press—Walmart Canada WMT-N +0.25%increaseis closing six stores and spending $500 million to upgrade more than half its remaining locations and improve its online business, the company said Monday.The Mississauga, Ont., based retailer said it’s closing three stores in Ontario, two in Alberta and one in Newfoundland and Labrador.Workers will be offered jobs at nearby stores as each of the impacted locations is in a market that is already served by other Walmart stores, the company said.....View Article
March 15, 2021
PROREIT Announces Proposed Acquisition of 12 Industrial Assets for $86.8 Million and $50 Million Private Placement
PROREIT—PRO Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: PRV.UN) ("PROREIT" or the "REIT") today announced its proposed acquisition of a 100% interest in 12 industrial properties, including three properties in Ottawa, Ontario, representing 283,000 square feet of gross leasable area ("GLA") and nine properties in Winnipeg, Manitoba, representing 288,000 square feet of GLA (collectively, the "Acquisitions"), for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $86.8 million (excluding closing costs).....View Article
March 11, 2021
Blackstone Inks Deal to Expand Headquarters on Park Avenue
Bloomberg—Blackstone Group Inc. has signed a lease to expand its headquarters in Manhattan, taking more space on Park Avenue as the firm recommits to staying in New York.Blackstone will take an additional 80,000 square feet (7,432 square meters) at 345 Park Avenue, bringing its total at the property to about 720,000 square feet, according to a statement Thursday......View Article
March 11, 2021
CBRE Global Investors Closes USD 265 Million Japan Logistics Co-Investment Vehicle
CBRE Global Investors—CBRE Global Investors has successfully closed on a co-investment vehicle (the “Co-Investment”), which is part of the CBRE Asia Value Partners V fund (“AVP V” or the “Fund”) and targets logistics development projects in Japan.As the Fund approaches full deployment, the Co-Investment will enable a select group of Limited Partners to capitalize on several compelling opportunities that have been sourced on an off-market basis.....View Article
March 11, 2021
HSBC to Exit Coal Financing, Following Engagement with Shareholder Group
ESG Today—Global banking and financial services company HSBC filed a climate change resolution today, containing an expansion of its climate policies, including the establishment of a plan to exit coal financing. The move follows a campaign led by responsible investment NGO ShareAction for a deeper commitment to climate action from the bank. HSBC climate proposals will be brought to shareholders for a vote at the company’s AGM on May 28.....View Article
March 10, 2021
Coffee Concept ‘Good Earth Cafe’ Acquiring Abandoned Starbucks Locations in Canada for Expansion
Retail Insider—Calgary-based Good Earth Cafes Ltd. is setting its sights on acquiring a number of spaces recently abandoned in Canada by Starbucks which has announced the closure of about 300 coffee shops in the country.Michael Going, Founder and CEO of Good Earth, said the company has retained Stan Boniferro, Managing Director of Stabon Enterprises, to work with landlords and developers in identifying sites suitable for conversion to Good Earth Coffeehouses.....View Article
March 10, 2021
The Innovation Imperative: How the pandemic has changed the urban environment where innovation thrives
Financial Post—In this series of columns, researchers from the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy explore Canada’s key innovation challenges. This week, Shauna Brail, Stephan Heblich and Anita M. McGahan on how the geography of innovation has been altered by the pandemic.....View Article
March 10, 2021
Hilton Grand Vacations to Acquire Apollo’s Diamond Resorts
Bloomberg—Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. is acquiring Diamond Resorts International Inc., the time-share company owned by Apollo Global Management Inc., in a stock deal with an equity value of about $1.4 billion, according to a statement Wednesday.Hilton Grand Vacations shareholders will own about 72% of the combined company with Apollo and other Diamond shareholders owning approximately 28%, according to the statement.....View Article
March 9, 2021
What Is the Right REIT Allocation?
WealthManagement.com—Commercial real estate is a core asset class with unique investment attributes and return drivers. This has been demonstrated over time and is the reason that 83 percent of financial advisors in the U.S. recommend REITs.Investments in REITs are investments in real estate, providing the same long-term real estate returns and diversification benefits.....View Article
March 9, 2021
OPTRUST REMAINS FULLY FUNDED FOR 12TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR
OPTrust—OPTrust today released its 2020 Funded Status Report, Taking Care, which details the Plan’s financial results and fully funded status. In 2020, OPTrust achieved an investment return of 8.9 per cent and lowered its discount rate. Membership in OPTrust Select, the defined benefit offering for Ontario’s nonprofit, charitable and broader public sectors, continues to grow. This ensures more frontline workers and essential service providers will have access to a secure, predictable retirement.....View Article
March 9, 2021
Fortress In Talks to Buy Colony Capital’s Non-Core Assets
Bloomberg—Fortress Investment Group LLC is in talks to acquire assets from Colony Capital Inc., according to people with knowledge of the matter, as the real estate investment trust accelerates its pivot toward digital infrastructure holdings.The companies are discussing a transaction that includes Colony’s wellness infrastructure portfolio, which it previously referred to as health care, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.....View Article
March 9, 2021
Increasing Racial Equity in the Multifamily Sector Requires Addressing Wealth Disparities; Greater Ties to Underserved Communities
WealthManagement.com—Last year, the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police, among several other high-profile incidents of racial violence, led to much broader conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion throughout American society. Commercial real estate has been no exception to this.....View Article
March 8, 2021
Sudden five-year mortgage rate spike could be 'recessionary': Tal
BNN Bloomberg—One Bay Street economist said five-year mortgage rate growth needs to be slow and steady – or else risk hurting the Canadian economy.Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist of CIBC World Markets Inc., told BNN Bloomberg the risk of a sudden rate spike could come from the Bank of Canada if it strikes an overly confident tone on the economy......View Article
March 8, 2021
Rising Sea Levels Inundating Coastal Economies Four Times Faster
Bloomberg—The economic impacts of rising sea levels will be felt four times faster by people living in some of the world’s biggest coastal cities, which are sinking beneath their own weight into manmade cavities created below the surface.....View Article
March 8, 2021
Times Square Luxury Hotel Moves Step Closer to Foreclosure Sale
Bloomberg—A Times Square hotel and retail property once valued at more than $2 billion is a step closer to foreclosure after a court victory for a group of lenders led by Natixis SA.The court granted the lenders the right to foreclose on the property, which features the 42-story Times Square Edition hotel designed by Marriott International Inc. and hospitality legend Ian Schrager.....View Article
March 8, 2021
Investcorp Is Said to Raise $1 Billion for North American Deals
Bloomberg—Investcorp Holdings BSC has raised about $1 billion for its first private equity fund focused on North American assets, according to people familiar the matter.The biggest private equity and alternative asset manager in the Middle East is set to complete a first close on the fund soon.....View Article
March 8, 2021
Is CBRE’s Investment in Industrious a Sign of Where Things Are Headed in the Office Sector?
WealthManagement.com—Commercial real estate services firm CBRE has just invested $200 million to acquire a 35 percent share of flexible workspace operator Industrious, with plans to purchase another 5 percent in the near future, making CBRE Industrious’ largest shareholder.....View Article
March 6, 2021
Brookfield sells stake in third Bay Adelaide tower in downtown Toronto
The Globe and Mail—Brookfield Property Partners has sold a stake in one of its Bay Street office towers, according to two sources familiar with the matter, the most significant deal brokered in the downtown office market since the pandemic began.....View Article
March 5, 2021
Goldman Sachs to Align Financing Activities with 2050 Net Zero Pathway
ESG Today—Leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm Goldman Sachs announced a series of sustainability and sustainable finance announcements today, including stating that the bank will align its financing activities with a net zero by 2050 pathway......View Article
March 5, 2021
Beacon Hall Golf Club members vote on developer’s $250-million offer to buy course
The Globe and Mail—Can golfers put a value on their love for the game? If they could, the price tag is about $1-million at one Toronto-area course, Beacon Hall Golf Club. Beacon Hall’s members were poised on Friday to turn down a $250-million offer for the property, or about $960,000 each, opting instead to keep playing on a course in Aurora, Ont., that consistently ranks among the top 10 in Canada.....View Article
March 4, 2021
Mall Owner Washington Prime Is Said to Prepare Bankruptcy Filing
Bloomberg—Mall owner Washington Prime Group is preparing a potential bankruptcy filing as time runs out to avert a default after it skipped an interest payment on its debt, according to people with knowledge of the plans.The real estate investment trust, which owns about 100 malls throughout the U.S., said last month that it would use a 30-day grace period to continue negotiations with its lenders......View Article
March 4, 2021
Marriott to Pay Hotel Employees for Getting Covid-19 Vaccines
Bloomberg—Marriott International Inc., the world’s largest lodging company, is offering a financial incentive to hotel workers who receive Covid-19 vaccines.....View Article
March 2, 2021
Paper Source Sets Sale to Apollo-Backed Lender in Bankruptcy
Bloomberg—Paper Source Inc., the stationery and craft supplies chain, filed for bankruptcy with plans to sell itself after Covid-19 hampered expansion plans.The company intends to hand control of the business to an affiliate of MidCap Financial, a lending arm of Apollo Global Management, in exchange for debt forgiveness, court papers show.....View Article
March 2, 2021
New real estate investment firm, Forest Gate, launches in Ontario
Newswire—The Board of Directors of Forest Gate Financial Corp. today announces the formation of Forest Gate, a new boutique private equity, private debt and real estate investment firm. To lead this new venture, the Board has appointed Daniel Marinovic as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner, and Frank DelZotto as Chief Financial Officer and Partner.....View Article
March 2, 2021
Five women on what it’s like to work in commercial real estate
The Globe and Mail—A recent study on women in the commercial real estate industry has revealed a significant gender imbalance in the sector, in fields from investment to construction. The 2019 study, conducted by the U.S.-based Commercial Real Estate Women Network (CREW), shows that 15 per cent of the top management positions were held by women.....View Article
March 1, 2021
Mall Values Plunge 60% After Reappraisals Triggered by Bad Debt
Bloomberg—U.S. mall values plunged an average 60% after appraisals in 2020, a sign of more pain to come for retail properties even as the economy emerges from pandemic-enforced lockdowns.About $4 billion in value was erased from 118 retail-anchored properties with commercial mortgage-backed securities debt after reappraisals triggered by payment delinquencies, defaults or foreclosures.....View Article
February 26, 2021
11 Must Reads for cre industry today
WealthManagement.com—Commercial landlords are finding investors interested in providing bridge loans for project revamps, reports The New York Times. The Wall Street Journal looks at what mom-and-pop apartment landlords need to know when their tenants stop paying rent. These are among today’s must reads from around the commercial real estate industry.....View Article
February 25, 2021
Riding out market bumps: Diversification through global real estate
MoneyTalk—Now in the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, how has commercial real estate yield and prices around the world held up? Should you consider holding real estate in your investment portfolio? Kim Parlee talks to Colin Lynch, Head of Global Real Estate Investments at TD Asset Management.....View Video
February 25, 2021
TD to shut 82 U.S. bank branches amid digital shift
TheGlobeandMail—Toronto-Dominion Bank TD-T +1.56%increaseis shutting 82 branches in the United States, culling locations that it considers redundant and reinvesting some of the proceeds in digital banking alternatives.Most of the branches will close in April, but TD booked US$76-million in related costs in the fiscal first quarter......View Article
February 25, 2021
Airbnb bookings rebound as lockdown-weary Americans take short trips to nearby locations
TheGlobeandMail—Airbnb Inc ABNB-Q -4.08%decreasereported better-than-expected gross bookings on Thursday in its first quarterly earnings report since going public, indicating a strong rebound in demand for vacation rentals in North America as COVID-19 pandemic curbs ease.Leisure travelers in the company’s biggest market stepped out to nearby locations......View Article
February 25, 2021
THE FUTURE OF CONDO LIVING IN A POST-COVID WORLD
MyTorontoCondo.com—The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has played an interesting role in Toronto’s real estate market, resulting in everything from record-high prices for single-family homes, to a notable surplus in condo supply.Through it all, construction continues on shiny new residential buildings that will change Toronto’s skyline, as well as on innovative master-planned communities that could redefine their surrounding neighbourhoods.Futuristic buildings like Pinnacle International’s 95-storey SkyTower, for example – which, upon completion, will become the tallest residential condominium tower ever built in Canada – will make international headlines......View Article
February 25, 2021
CUPE Ontario calls for review of OMERS’ investment processes after pension manager posts a 2.7-per-cent loss in 2020
TheGlobeandMail—Pension plan OMERS turned in a 2.7-per-cent loss on its investments in 2020 as the pandemic weighed down returns from its holdings in shopping malls, a theatre chain and other consumer-facing businesses.......View Article
February 25, 2021
‘Purgatory’ Grips $146 Billion of Distressed Commercial Property
Bloomberg—The pandemic helped push about $146 billion of commercial real estate into distress or serious risk of bankruptcy last year, according to Real Capital Analytics.....View Article
February 25, 2021
How a New Program Aims to Increase Diversity in Commercial Real Estate Over Time
WealthManagement.com—The Diversity Partners Program will involve commitments from members both within their own organizations and throughout the industry.....View Article
February 25, 2021
JLL investment report reveals better than expected results amidst pandemic
JLL—The JLL year-end 2020 Investment Outlook report shows total investment into Canada’s commercial real estate stock surpassed $37 billion, a 17% fall from the market’s five-year average. Considering that the market was essentially stalled from March to July, this was better than many would have predicted at the onset of COVID.....View Article
February 25, 2021
Caisse posts 7.7% return for 2020 as private credit investments, equities rally offset real estate weakness
TheGlobeandMail—Canadian pension fund giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec tallied a 7.7 per cent return for 2020, as profits from private credit and equity investments helped overcome continuing trouble in its real estate holdings.The Caisse generated returns worth $25-billion in 2020, boosting its net assets under management to $365-billion at the end of the year.....View Article
February 22, 2021
E-commerce explosion to fuel warehouse building boom in Canada
Bloomberg—Canada is on the verge of a warehouse building boom as soaring demand for online goods is expected to continue beyond the pandemic.Forty million square feet of additional warehouse space will be needed in the next five years after e-commerce sales rose 32 per cent last year, according to a report from brokerage CBRE Ltd.....View Article
February 22, 2021
Toronto set to be home to e-sports performance venue by 2025
The Globe and Mail—Anthony (Methodz) Zinni is a professional e-sports player who has experienced the thrill of gaming live on stage in front of thousands of cheering fans. He has competed with teammates for millions in prize money all over the world, from London to Paris and Los Angeles, in the wildly popular video game Call of Duty.....View Article
February 22, 2021
Raging Success of First Bitcoin Fund Shows Who Leads ETF Market
Bloomberg—The roaring success of the first-ever Bitcoin exchange-traded fund will have been no surprise to cryptocurrency fans. But if they don’t know about ETFs, the venue might have been startling.The explosive debut of the Purpose Bitcoin ETF (ticker BTCC), whose trading volume approached $400 million worth of shares in two days, didn’t happen in the largest ETF market. Nor was it in Europe.....View Article
February 19, 2021
Mark Wiseman: The world could learn from Canada's pension model
Bloomberg—Chief among the many challenges brought on by COVID-19 is the acceleration of the global pension crisis. Low interest rates and decreased economic activity are ballooning pension liabilities and challenging return assumptions, ultimately stressing pension plans all over the world.....View Article
February 17, 2021
H&R REIT considers a radical change after a tough year: Splitting up
The Globe and Mail—One of Canada’s largest publicly traded commercial property owners is contemplating a major shakeup, with H&R REIT weighing a revamp that could spin out some divisions as standalone companies.....View Article
February 17, 2021
Canada's Pensions Expand Their Global Real Estate
PensionPulse—Chris Key, managing director, Greystar Australia, told IPE Real Assets that the third investor was a “large European” pension fund. APG was the first investor in the partnership, and Greystar had a modest stake in the venture, he said.“We have seeded the fund with two projects in Melbourne. One is a 686-apartment project on adjoining sites in South Yarra, and the second is a separate site for 700-apartments in South Melbourne.”Key said the fund was actively looking for sites in Sydney. “Our ambition is to close on a number of those deals this year.”.....View Article
February 17, 2021
Row over development charges pits Toronto, province
The Globe and Mail—The construction industry is crying foul after the City of Toronto announced that it will circumvent a freeze on development charges imposed by the province and levy heavy penalties on builders who defer paying fees on some projects.....View Article
February 16, 2021
Real estate giant opens the door for others to return to office
FinancialTimes—Few companies are more motivated to promote the return to the office than those in real estate, whose portfolios of office property could be in serious trouble if the pandemic entrenches working from home.Brookfield, the Canadian-owned investment group, says that three-quarters of employees at Brookfield Place, its U.S. headquarters at the foot of Manhattan, have been back in the office since late November — and it has a playbook that it says other businesses can follow.....View Article
February 16, 2021
Distressed assets? Not yet…
Avison Young—In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) commercial real estate (CRE) market, the predictable fourth-quarter surge in investment sales was a welcomed respite in a year where the unpredictability of the pandemic stymied investor appetite for select properties – bringing several years of record-high investment sales results to a halt.....View Article
February 14, 2021
Office-building conversions offer ray of hope in downtown Calgary
The Globe and Mail—Adaptive reuse is far from simple, but one developer hopes to have his new Westley Hotel open soon in the old Birchcliff Energy building.....View Article
February 13, 2021
Offices are empty, renters are fleeing — so why is this developer building a massive two-tower skyscraper at King and University?
The Globe and Mail—Urbanites are fleeing locked-down cities. Office towers are deserted, with the highest vacancy rates since the financial crisis. Downtown-condo investors face plunging rents and property values. None of this worries Michael Cooper, CEO of Dream Office REIT, the developer behind the Distillery District and numerous downtown office towers.....View Article
February 11, 2021
Brookfield Worth 40% More Than Its Current Price, CEO Flatt Says
Bloomberg—Brookfield Asset Management Inc. ended 2020 with a record quarter and $602 billion in assets under management, but the head of the alternative asset manager said he believes its shares are undervalued. Bruce Flatt, Brookfield chief executive officer, said in a letter to shareholders Thursday that he believes the true value of the company is closer to $57 a share, or roughly 40% more than its closing price of $41.02 on Wednesday.....View Article
February 8, 2021
10 Commercial Real Estate Predictions For 2021
Forbes—Making predictions is challenging even in quieter times, let alone in a year with a global pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic will forever influence almost all aspects of our lives, including the use of real estate. However, what history has taught us is that following the struggle years, there is generally a great expansion not only in economic terms, but also in technology, innovation, art, music, medicine and education... View Article
February 8, 2021
Bank of Nova Scotia vacating top floors of Toronto’s Scotia Plaza skyscraper
The Globe and Mail—Bank of Nova Scotia will vacate the top floors in the central skyscraper in Scotia Plaza in Toronto’s financial district, putting more prime office real estate on the market at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing up vacancies. Scotia Plaza’s owners announced Scotiabank renewed part of its.....View Article
February 3, 2021
America’s K-shaped housing market
CityCommentary—Home prices are soaring, rents are fallingThe disparate impact of the recession on high income and low income households in driving the housing market in two directions at once. Job losses have been concentrated among the lowest earning workers, who are disproportionately renters. Meanwhile high earning workers have seen no net job losses, and they are disproportionately homeowners and home buyers......View Article
January 29, 2021
With the St. Lawrence Centre redevelopment paused by COVID-19, let’s rethink what civic theatres can be
The Globe and Mail—How should theatres be constructed after COVID-19?Can they be designed in new ways – or old ways – to be more versatile in a pandemic? Should they be built to double as broadcast studios for “distanced” performances? Are there ways to make the physical structures more inviting to those groups whose structural exclusion from theatre has been reckoned with during this plague?.....View Article
January 29, 2021
Vegas Mall That Lost 95% of Value Might Be Just the Beginning
WealthManagement.com—The Prizm Outlets mall, about a 40-minute drive south of Las Vegas on the California border, lost 95% of its value in six months. It may not be the last mall to do so. Formerly known as the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas, the Primm, Nevada mall was auctioned off on Wednesday at a final price of $1.525 million, compared with a $28.2 million appraisal in July, according to a person with knowledge of the results on commercial real estate auction site Ten-X. The buyer wasn’t disclosed.....View Article
January 29, 2021
Nine Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (Jan. 30, 2021)
WealthManagement.com—WeWork may combine with a SPAC as it continues its turnaround plan, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Los Angeles Times looks at how restaurant properties with drive-throughs have been a hot commodity in recent months. These are among today’s must reads from around the commercial real estate industry.....View Article
January 25, 2021
CI Financial to Acquire $23B Segall Bryant & Hamill
WealthManagement.com—Canadian-based asset and wealth manager CI Financial announced plans Monday to acquire a majority stake in Chicago-based Segall Bryant & Hamill, an investment and wealth management firm with $23 billion in assets under management, representing CI’s largest deal yet.....View Article
January 25, 2021
REALPAC members offer space for COVID-19 response
RENX—REALPAC members are offering free use of vacant commercial space across Canada in the effort to battle COVID-19. “We can be part of the solution here by offering space and doing the right thing,” REALPAC chief executive officer Michael Brooks told RENX.....View Article
January 20, 2021
Canadian Commercial Real Estate Industry Offers Support to National Vaccination Efforts
REALPAC—REALPAC and its member organizations are pleased to announce an industry initiative to support the national vaccination rollout, through providing governments and health networks across Canada with the free use of vacant commercial space (such as retail space in malls, big box space, conference centres, hotels, industrial units, parking lots and office buildings) for use as vaccination sites.....View Article
January 17, 2021
Calgary’s downtown office vacancy rates rise to record levels with no landlord relief in sight
The Globe and Mail—Vacancies in Calgary's downtown office towers have risen to record levels and there's no landlord relief in sight with almost one in three offices sitting empty and sublets accounting for a quarter of available spaces on the market.....View Article
January 8, 2021
CPPIB Pumps $850 Million Into Hard Assets, Sensing Market Froth
WealthManagement.com—Canada’s largest pension plan is expanding its holdings of hard assets, plowing around $850 million into property, wind farms and logistics facilities to kick off the year. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has formed a joint venture with Greystar Real Estate Partners to pursue multifamily real estate development opportunities in target markets in the U.S., it said in a statement Thursday.....View Article
January 7, 2021
Wells Fargo Advisors to Exit All International Business
WealthManagement.com—Wells Fargo plans to stop catering to clients outside the U.S. in an effort to “simplify the business,” said Jim Hays, head of Wells Fargo Advisors and the wealth and investment management client relationship group, in a memo to advisors obtained by WealthManagement.com.....View Article
January 7, 2021
Blackstone Acquires Simply Self Storage for $1.2B
WealthManagement.com—BREIT completed its acquisition of Simply Self Storage on Dec. 18. With the deal complete, the company believes it is now the third largest non-listed self-storage operator in the United States, according a press release.....View Article
Dec 18, 2020
Can I Be Required To Get Vaccinated Against Covid-19?
Bloomberg—For the first time, a government has mandated vaccination against Covid-19. Indonesia, seeking to quicken its inoculation program to curb Southeast Asia’s largest outbreak, announced that it’s requiring those eligible for the vaccine to take it. Mandates have been under discussion as well in the U.S., which has one of the worst outbreaks anywhere.....View Article
December 17, 2020
A $7 Billion Bet Japanese Workers Return to Office Life
WealthManagement.com—Real estate investor BentallGreenOak is wagering billions of dollars that Japanese workers will return to the office after the pandemic. The unit of Canada’s Sun Life Financial Inc. plans to double staff and invest $10 billion in Japan over the next two to three years, of which as much as 70% may go into office buildings in the country’s major business districts, said Chief Executive Officer Sonny Kalsi......View Article
December 16, 2020
WealthManagement.com Announces Expanded Reach And Coverage of Commercial Real Estate Sector
GlobeNewswire—WealthManagement.com, the leading resource for financial advisors and wealth planning professionals, announces WealthManagement.com Real Estate (WMRE), a rebranding of the National Real Estate Investor media franchise designed to reflect expanded access of commercial real estate (CRE) market insights and intelligence to a broader community of investment advisor professionals.....View Article
November 21, 2020
Hudson’s Bay has stopped paying its rent at malls across the country. Is it in trouble?
The Star—Is Hudson's Bay in trouble? There are certainly signs that it could be. The 350-year-old retailer, whose parent company was taken private on March 3, just a week before COVID-19 hit Canada with its full force, has been hit hard by the pandemic lockdown, as have many retailers.....View Article
November 13, 2020
More landlords suing Hudson’s Bay for not paying rent since pandemic started
The Globe and Mail—Morguard REIT is seeking a total of $2.79-million in unpaid rent for five locations in shopping centres in Ottawa, Toronto, Brampton, Ont., and Abbotsford, B.C., according to October filings in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and B.C. Supreme Court.....View Article
November 6, 2020
CI Financial Pushes Further Into U.S. RIA Market
WealthManagement.com—Soon after acquiring its 10th U.S. registered investment advisor—and then a day later announcing it was on the cusp of acquiring another—CI Financial, which entered the U.S. RIA market less than a year ago, said it had applied to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.....View Article
November 5, 2020
GM to reopen Oshawa assembly plant; expects to hire as many as 2,500 workers
The Globe and Mail—General Motors Corp. will reopen its vehicle assembly plant in Oshawa, Ont., spending $1.3-billion to retool the plant that closed last year, the Unifor union said Thursday morning.....View Article
November 4, 2020
The Future of Senior Living
Canada ICI—Canada ICI is excited to profile Optima Living, the team behind Aster Gardens, a project that Canada ICI helped finance. Aster Gardens, in Sherwood Park Alberta, is named after the Aster flower that is native to Alberta and that blooms in the latter part of life.....View Article
November 2, 2020
Starlight Investments and KingSett Capital Complete $4.9 Billion Acquisition of Northview Apartment REIT
Newswire—Starlight Investments (together with its affiliates, "Starlight") and KingSett Capital on behalf of KingSett Real Estate Growth LP No 7, KingSett Canadian Real Estate Income Fund LP and other investors (together with its affiliates, "KingSett", and together with Starlight, the "Purchasers") announced today that they have completed the previously announced acquisition of Northview Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: NVU.UN) ("Northview") in a transaction valued at approximately $4.9 billion, including net debt (the "Transaction").....View Article
October 30, 2020
Canada aims to accept far more immigrants in next three years
The Globe and Mail—The federal government is greatly increasing immigration targets for the next three years and will offer a path to citizenship for temporary foreign workers, asylum seekers and international students currently in Canada to make up for a critical shortfall in immigration resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.....View Article
October 29, 2020
Public-Private Development Opportunity in Grande Prairie City Centre
City of Grande Prairie Canada—An Expression of Interest (EOI) is open for two parcels of City-owned land, providing unique opportunities to explore innovative funding models and partnerships with the City of Grande Prairie.....View Article
October 28, 2020
How Hotel Sales Performed in Q3
GlobeSt—Today’s global travel sector, which many characterize as being “on the brink of collapse,” is simply unprecedented. Seven months into a 100-year worldwide pandemic which caused a swift, wide, and deep economic recession has decimated key travel and leisure related industries including airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, ridesharing, and tour operators.....View Article
October 27, 2020
HBC files suit against Oxford, says landlord breached lease agreements
The Globe and Mail—Hudson’s Bay is firing another salvo in a battle with some of its landlords over rent payments during the global coronavirus pandemic.On Tuesday, Hudson’s Bay Co. ULC filed a lawsuit against Oxford Properties and its affiliates, claiming Oxford is in breach of its lease agreements at seven shopping malls it owns, co-owns or manages. HBC says in its statement of claim that it is not required to pay rent on those stores until the “breaches” are resolved.....View Article
October 27, 2020
Toronto to get $203M, Vancouver and Montreal to split about $108M more under city-specific housing plan
The Globe and Mail—Toronto will receive $203.3-million to quickly develop new affordable housing – part of the federal government’s plan to build 3,000 new units across the country. The Rapid Housing Initiative will dedicate half of its $1-billion in program funding to 15 of Canada’s largest cities, with Toronto receiving the largest transfer. Montreal will receive $56.8-million, and Vancouver will get $51.6-million.....View Article
October 22, 2020
The high-tech way to deal with condo package deliveries
CityNews—With the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been a huge increase in online shopping and package deliveries at Toronto condos. Audra Brown checks out a high tech solution.....View Article
October 20, 2020
Decade of Disruption: The Future of Workplace Sustainability in the Age of Covid-19 and Climate Change
Disrupt Design—Internationally-renowned sustainability expert Dr. Leyla Acaroglu and leading intranet development company, Unily, just released the Decade of Disruption: The Future of Workplace Sustainability in the Age of Covid-19 and Climate Change, which explores the forces driving change in how we work, the megatrends affecting this decade, and the impacts of massive disruptions like Covid-19 and climate change on the workplace.....View Article
October 20, 2020
Pandemic speeds labour shift from humans to robots, WEF survey finds
Reuters—Robots will destroy 85 million jobs at mid-sized to large businesses over the next five years as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates changes in the workplace likely to exaggerate inequalities, a World Economic Forum (WEF) study has found.....View Article
October 15, 2020
Virtual conferences build up to Real Estate Forum in Toronto
RENX—The more virtual conferences George Przybylowski organizes, the more advantages he sees to a virtual format for getting hundreds, if not a couple of thousand, commercial real estate executives together.Przybylowski is one of the most recognizable faces in the industry in Canada. Informa’s vice-president of real estate heads up the country’s largest series of CRE conferences, the Canadian Real Estate Forums.....View Article
October 14, 2020
Streetwise newsletter: HBC locked in legal battle with two landlords over unpaid rent
The Globe and Mail—Hudson’s Bay Co. is battling with two of its major landlords over the retailer’s failure to pay the rent during the novel coronavirus pandemic, alleging that one of them, Oxford Properties, is not doing enough to draw customers to its Quebec malls.....View Article
October 14, 2020
Pandemic-shift: spike in savings diverted into housing driving national median home prices up 8.6%, according to Royal LePage
Newswire—According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast released today, the aggregate1 price of a home in Canada increased 8.6 per cent year-over-year to $692,964 in the third quarter, as high demand and low inventory continued to fuel a seller's market.....View Article
October 4, 2020
WILL CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS SURVIVE THE PANDEMIC?
The Globe and Mail—One of COVID-19′s silver linings, at least in the corporate world, is that talent is no longer restricted to certain areas or time zones; with the majority of knowledge workers working remotely, employees could theoretically work from anywhere.....View Article
September 17, 2020
Toronto’s PATH is a dead zone, even as some workers trickle back to office buildings
The Globe and Mail—Before the pandemic struck, crowds of downtown office workers would swarm in and out of Toronto's main train station twice each weekday, a mass of humanity so thick that trying to walk against the stream earned the nickname "salmoning." The crowds are now a distant memory and the network of underground tunnels - known as the PATH - that connects the skyscrapers and transit has fallen eerily quiet.....View Article
August 27, 2020
Can Toronto’s office market flatten the “sublease curve”?
Avison Young—As the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) office market continues to find its way through the COVID-19 pandemic, tenants are evaluating their office space needs (both short-term and long-term) as many office workers continue to work from home (WFH) and many organizations are opting to list office space for sublease as part of their strategies.....View Article
August 18, 2020
Smart lockers in demand as touchless package delivery becomes the office norm
The Globe and Mail—The Covid-19 pandemic has had at least one positive effect on Richard Myers’s business. Users of Alternawork, his 25,000-square-foot co-working offices in Oakville, Ont., can now safely receive and send packages without signatures or other human interaction.....View Article
August 12, 2020
Airbnb Quarterly Revenue Drops 67%; IPO Still Planned
Bloomberg—Airbnb Inc. reported tumbling revenue and mounting losses in the second quarter, but the home-sharing startup is still eyeing a stock market debut before year’s end, according to people familiar with the matter.....View Article
August 11, 2020
Global commercial real estate markets feel impact of COVID-19
JLL—The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt in global real estate markets, with commercial real estate investment volumes falling across all three regions in the first half of the year.Direct commercial real estate investment fell 29 percent globally to $321 billion in the first six months of 2020 compared to the year-earlier period, according to data from JLL. The drop came amid widespread lockdowns and travel restrictions that stalled investors’ short-term capital deployment plans.....View Article
July 27, 2020
Google tells employees to get used to working from home for another year
Mashable—That appears to be the thinking of Google, as CEO Sundar Pichai told employees Monday morning that many of them would be working from home until July 2021 at the earliest. That's right, the Big Data company thinks we're all in this for the long haul — at least in the U.S., anyway.....View Article
July 17, 2020
The consumer sector in 2020 and beyond
McKinsey & Company—There are a few consistent shifts that we’re seeing across the globe. What consumers value is truly shifting, and so is their channel choice. Consumer spending is “overpronating” massively toward value, and there’s a material flight to online. We think that both of these trends are going to be very sticky.....View Article
July 10, 2020
Here's what it looks like when Canadian retailers seek creditor protection
Finanacial Post—Since May, prominent Canadian retailers such as Aldo Group Inc., Reitmans Canada Ltd. and, most recently, DavidsTea Inc. and clothing chain Frank and Oak have sought court protection while they work to restructure their businesses in conjunction with creditors, either under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act or through a notice of intention to make a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.....View Article
July 8, 2020
Brooks Brothers files for bankruptcy, will close 51 stores
Retail Dive—Brooks Brothers filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, with a commitment for a debtor-in-possession financing facility of $75 million already secured from brand management firm WHP Global and with plans to permanently close 51 stores.....View Article
July 7, 2020
Ontario municipalities investing abroad after rule change
The Globe and Mail—A group of Ontario municipalities has begun pooling investments and buying international securities, the first local governments in the province beyond Toronto to take advantage of a rule change allowing municipalities to diversify their portfolios into non-Canadian products.....View Article
July 4, 2020
MIT-designed robot can disinfect a warehouse floor in 30 minutes -- and could one day be employed in grocery stores and schools
CNN Business—MIT has designed a robot that is capable of disinfecting the floor of a 4,000-square foot warehouse in only half an hour, and it could one day be used to clean your local grocery store or school.....View Article
July 2, 2020
Walmart is transforming 160 of its parking lots into drive-in theaters
CNN Business—Two of the most classic pieces of Americana are coming together this summer: drive-in theaters and Walmart.Beginning in August, the retailer is converting 160 of its US store parking lots into drive-in movie theaters.....View Article
June 25, 2020
Steelcase, MIT Researchers Team Up to Study Pathogens in the Office
Steelcase—Steelcase today announces its collaboration with MIT professor and disease transmission specialist Dr. Lydia Bourouiba of the Bourouiba Research Group at MIT to study disease transmission in the workplace. Bourouiba specializes in fluid dynamics and understanding properties of turbulent gas clouds that are produced when people exhale, sneeze or cough and how that spreads respiratory pathogens.....View Article
June 24, 2020
CBRE’s Second Quarter Statistics Show COVID-19’s Impact on Canadian Commercial Real Estate
CBRE—Canada’s major office markets saw vacancy rates and subletting activity increase in the second quarter of 2020 while office rents dropped slightly, according to CBRE’s new Q2 2020 Quarterly Statistics Report. Meanwhile, the nation’s top industrial real estate markets powered forward, with new space coming online in time to service accelerating e-commerce demand.....View Article
June 23, 2020
Amazon creates a $2 billion climate fund, as it struggles to cut its own emissions
MIT Technology Review—Amazon launched a $2 billion venture fund to invest in companies developing ways to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, marking the latest corporate effort to allocate major resources to combating climate change.....View Article
June 18, 2020
“Going up”?
Avison Young—As we gradually return to the office, one of the major concerns for landlords and employers alike is something we haven’t paid much attention to in the past – how to get staff to the floors where they work safely and efficiently.....View Article
June 14, 2020
These retailers are closing Canadian locations in 2020
CTV News—The Canadian retail sector was already in trouble before COVID-19, but the pandemic has left it on even shakier ground. The combination of forced closures, decreased consumer spending and limited rent relief measures has left some retailers unable to maintain their existing operations.....View Article
June 13, 2020
NASA: Last Month Was Earth’s Warmest May on Record
Discover Magazine—Last month has entered the books as the warmest May in records stretching back to 1880, according to NASA's monthly analysis of global temperatures, published today.....View Article
June 8, 2020
How To Avoid 'Losing' At Pandemic Recovery
Forbes—As the U.S. begins the long, slow process of recovering from the effects of COVID-19, the uphill climb will be steeper for some industries than others. Tourism, for example, is expected to see staggering losses. But the recovery won't be just about making up for lost revenue.....View Article
June 2, 2020
COVID-19 impacts on Greater Toronto Area commercial real estate market
Avison Young—As this unprecented situation continues to rapidly evolve, Avison Young's Briefing Notes are intended to provide an up-to-date assessment of the impact on the commercial real estate market.....View Article
May 29, 2020
Marcus & Millichap to Lay Off 175 Staffers
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL—Calabasas-based brokerage Marcus & Millichap Inc. will lay off 175 salaried employees, or 20 percent of its 877-person workforce, as the coronavirus outbreak ripples through the commercial real estate industry....View Article
May 29, 2020
Is the office era over? The surprising truth about working from home
The Globe and Mail—Employers used to believe remote workers were happier but less productive. Turns out it’s the opposite. That has big implications for the future of work once the pandemic ends.....View Article
May 19, 2020
COVID-19 impacts on Greater Toronto Area commercial real estate market
Avison Young—As this unprecented situation continues to rapidly evolve, Avison Young's Briefing Notes are intended to provide an up-to-date assessment of the impact on the commercial real estate market.....View Article
May 14, 2020
Starbucks asks for a break on rent for the next year
CNBC—Starbucks sent a letter to landlords demanding a break on rent for the next year as the coronavirus pandemic hammers U.S. sales. The restaurant company, one of the largest in the country by number of stores, told landlords that starting June 1, for at least the next 12 months, it will need changes to lease terms and base rent.....View Article
May 12, 2020
Coronavirus: Twitter allows staff to work from home 'forever'
BBC—The decision came as the social media giant said its work-from-home measures during the lockdown had been a success.But it also said it would allow workers to return to the office if they choose when it reopens......View Article
May 11, 2020
Silicon Valley billionaire Eric Schmidt predicts that companies will need more office space after the pandemic, not less
Business Insider—Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt thinks office space will be in greater demand after the coronavirus pandemic subsides.Schmidt's remarks on "Face the Nation" on Sunday appeared to contradict a widespread belief that offices might be on the decline as workers learn to work effectively from home.......View Article
May 8, 2020
Google Will Let Employees Work From Home Until The End Of 2020
Forbes—If local guidelines allow it, the company will start opening offices globally in June for some employees, but the bulk of the tech giant’s workforce will likely work from home until the end of the year, Google confirmed.The announcement comes after Facebook said Thursday employees will be able to choose to work from home until the end of 2020......View Article
May 8, 2020
Facebook and Google extend working from home to end of year
BBC News—Facebook and Google have said they will let employees continue working from home for the rest of the year.The tech giants have announced plans to reopen their offices soon but are allowing more home working flexibility.Google originally said it would keep its work from home policy until 1 June, but is extending it for seven more months.Facebook said it would reopen its offices on 6 July as coronavirus lockdowns are gradually lifted.....View Article
May 7, 2020
Brookfield to provide $5-billion to cash-strapped retailers for stake in business
The Globe and Mail—Brookfield to provide $5-billion to cash-strapped retailers for stake in business....View Article
May 7, 2020
Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs abandons Toronto smart-city project
The Globe and Mail— Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs is walking away from building a smart-city development in Toronto after two and a half years of controversy over its origins, overreach, and privacy and financial implications....View Article
Apr 23, 2020
Slate Asset Management Raises €250 Million in Third European Real Estate Fund
Cision— TORONTO and LONDON, April 23, 2020 /CNW/ -- Slate Asset Management ("Slate"), a leading alternative asset management platform with a focus on real estate, announced today the final close of its Slate European Real Estate Fund III ("Slate Europe III"). Consistent with its predecessor funds, Slate Europe III will target grocery real estate assets in Europe. The oversubscribed closed-end fund exceeded its target size of €200 million and closed at its hard-cap of €250 million....View Article
Apr 17, 2020
JLL to cut carbon emissions by over two-thirds
JLL— CHICAGO, Apr. 22, 2020 – To mark Earth Day (April 22, 2020) JLL is pleased to announce the approval of its science-based target by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) as aligned to the 1.5C ambition of the Paris Agreement. The target commits JLL to reduce its scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 68% by 2034 from a 2018 base year. The target covers emissions from the more than 400 offices in over 40 countries occupied by JLL globally and JLL’s facilities management and engineering fleet, including company cars. JLL has also committed to reduce scope 3 emissions from the properties that it manages on behalf of clients by 53% per square foot over the same period....View Article
Apr 17, 2020
Fiera Real Estate announces the successful divestiture of GPM 11 Fund
Fiera Real Estate— Fiera Real Estate is pleased to announce the successful and timely divestiture of the $249 million closed-end, GPM Real Property (11) Limited Partnership (the “Fund”). The Fund was the 11th in a successful series of 12 closed-end investment fund strategies that have raised a total of $857 million and focused on the small to mid-size industrial asset class across Canada. The Fund initially closed in early 2008, with 12 institutional investors who provided an equity base of $148.5 million. The acquisition of 36 industrial assets served as the Fund’s investment base....View Article
Apr 17, 2020
Fiera Real Estate announces the successful divestiture of GPM 11 Fund
Fiera Real Immobilier— Fiera Immobilier est heureuse d’annoncer le dessaisissement réussi et opportun de la Société en commandite GPM Immobilier (11) (le « Fonds »), un fonds à capital variable d’une valeur de 249 millions de dollars. Le Fonds était le 11e d’une série de 12 stratégies à succès de fonds de placement à capital fixe qui ont permis d’amasser la somme de 857 millions de dollars et de se concentrer sur la catégorie des immeubles industriels de taille petite à moyenne au Canada. Le Fonds se composait de 12 investisseurs institutionnels pour un avoir des actionnaires totalisant 148,5 millions de dollars au terme de sa clôture initiale au début de 2008. L’acquisition de 36 immeubles industriels a constitué la base de placement du Fonds.....Voir l'article
Apr 8, 2020
News release: Real estate leader Sheila Botting joins Avison Young to establish Professional Services practice for the Americas
Avison Young— Toronto, ON – Mark Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, today announced the strategic hiring of Sheila Botting as Avison Young Principal and President, Professional Services, Americas. Botting, who joins May 4, will build a Professional Services practice across the Americas as the firm invests in expanding its integrated services offerings to meet clients’ business goals....View Article
Apr 3, 2020
Chart: Global Deal Activity Tracker, Week 11 Update
RealCapital Analytics— The coronavirus pandemic and associated financial and economic turbulence are challenging commercial real estate markets globally.Earlier this month Real Capital Analytics published a first glimpse on how the crisis was dampening deal activity. This latest update shows the cumulative transaction volumes recorded in the first full 11 weeks of 2020 versus the same periods in 2018 and 2019 for the three regions of the globe: Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)....View Article
Apr 2, 2020
SoftBank Says It Won’t Buy WeWork Co-Founder Neumann’s Shares
Wall Street Journal— SoftBank Group Corp. terminated an offer to pay up to $3 billion for shares in office-space provider WeWork, depriving co-founder Adam Neumann of a potential windfall of nearly a billion dollars....View Article
Apr 1, 2020
Three Toronto high-rise condo projects started by Cresford Developments in receivership
The Globe and Mail— Three condominium projects started by Toronto builder Cresford Developments have been pushed into receivership amid allegations of financial mismanagement, raising the possibility that as many as 1,800 presale buyers will see their contracts cancelled or their apartments go unbuilt....View Article
Mar 31, 2020
Commercial property landlords push back against rent relief requests from big firms
The Globe and Mail— Commercial property landlords are balking at requests for rent relief from big companies, saying they need to focus on helping vulnerable smaller tenants such as independent restaurants, clothing stores and barbershops that may not survive the huge losses from the coronavirus pandemic....View Article
Mar 16, 2020
Traffic Index 2019
Tom Tom— Covering 416 cities across 57 countries on 6 continents, our Traffic Index ranks urban congestion worldwide and provides free access to city-by-city information. You, along with drivers, city planners, automakers and policy makers, can use the index to help tackle traffic-related challenges...View Article
Mar 12, 2020
GLOBE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT ANNOUNCES $60M ACQUISITION OF CHIC MONTREAL RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
Globe Capital Management— WINNIPEG, MB — Mr. Richard Morantz, President and CEO of Globe Capital Management, is pleased to announce the acquisition by the company for $60 million of the Les Berges du Canal apartment complex in Montréal, Québec. The property is located in the gentrifying neighbourhood of St. Henri on the island of Montréal, where much investment is being directed to the rehabilitation of properties so that services can be provided to local residents in the former industrial area....View Article
Mar 4, 2020
Toronto's Gladstone Hotel Has Been Sold to Condo Developers
Exclaim— Historic Toronto boutique hotel and music venue, the Gladstone Hotel, has been sold to condo developers. Dream Unlimited and Streetcar Developments — the developer team responsible for restoring the Broadview Hotel in the city's east end — will take ownership of the Queen Street West property by the end of the month.....View Article
Mar 2, 2020
Construction Tech Unicorn Procore Drops S-1, Revealing Sharply Rising Revenue And Net Losses
Crunchbase News— Late Friday afternoon, construction management software provider Procore Technologies filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company outlined its plans, which we previewed here, last September for an initial public offering of its common stock.....View Article
Feb 26, 2020
The best defense against coronavirus
CNN— As an infectious disease physician and medical microbiologist who has successfully treated patients with Ebola virus disease in the US, I am being asked a lot of questions about the new coronavirus, Covid-19.....View Article
Feb 25, 2020
Amazon is opening its first full-size, cashierless grocery store. Here's a first look inside
CNBC— SEATTLE — Amazon is cracking further into the $800 billion U.S. grocery industry, keeping the likes of Walmart, Kroger, 7-Eleven and Instacart on their toes....View Article
Feb 25, 2020
Coronavirus Fears Cause Mortgage Rates To Tumble As Investors Flee To Safe Havens
Forbes— As the coronavirus spreads across the globe, the U.S. housing market is bracing for the economic fallout from the epidemic, which was first identified in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019. The rapidly spreading disease, named COVID-19, has contributed to projections that foreign real estate investment will plunge considerably this year....View Article
Feb 24, 2020
COGIR joins trend to develop mixed-use at retail sites
RENX— COGIR Real Estate will soon begin to redevelop its “outdated” shopping centres in Quebec and transform them into mixed-use developments that will include multiresidential towers....View Article
Feb 21, 2020
NYC woman 'ecstatic' as judge orders 20 floors cut from already built condo
CBC— Olive Freud says she has no sympathy for developers ordered to deconstruct and cut 20 floors from their condo....View Article
Feb 21, 2020
Coronavirus slows China’s property market to a crawl — and even the most robust real-estate app is no match
Market Watch— The residential real-estate market was already in a bad place before the outbreak began in Wuhan....View Article
Feb 20, 2020
Booming tech, student sectors drive Montreal multiresidential
RENX— A huge growth in international students and a booming tech sector have combined to make Montreal’s multiresidential market extremely favourable to investors, participants at the Quebec Apartment Investment Conference were told....View Article
Feb 20, 2020
These are the retailers closing in Canada or facing bankruptcy in 2020
CTV News— TORONTO -- Home decor chain Pier 1, Carlton Cards and Forever 21 are simply the latest in a growing list of retailers closing their doors in Canada or filing for bankruptcy.And several analysts told CTVNews.ca the underlying issue is that these chains haven’t kept up with changes in shoppers who have shifted online shopping....View Article
Feb 13, 2020
Never Mind the Internet. Here’s What’s Killing Malls.
New York Times— Yes, the internet has changed the way we shop. But taken together, other factors have caused greater harm to traditional retail stores, an economist says.....View Article
Feb 10, 2020
‘Co-warehouse’ opens in Atlanta
InsideLogistics— ATLANTA – Saltbox, a new 27,000 square foot co-working and co-warehousing facility has opened for business in Atlanta.....View Article
Feb 5, 2020
A global look at Real Estate trends
Deloitte Insights— REflexions offers a wide range of insights into trends and developments in the real estate market across the globe. Read the latest from our four categories: market views, technology, geography focus and markets focus.....View Article
Jan 29, 2020
The companies delivering on sustainability
Retail Week— IBM’s Roberto Battistoni highlights the businesses championing sustainable consumerism and the role emerging technologies can play....View Article
Jan 27, 2020
'Proptech' is finally disrupting the world of commercial real estate
BNN Bloomberg— Technology and data are finally shaking up the world of commercial real estate, allowing the industry to make more informed decisions, respond quicker to consumer trends, and take on more complex projects, says consultancy Altus Group....View Article
Jan 24, 2020
The CEO of the commercial-real estate giant JLL explains how data is shaping the office of the future
Business Insider— DAVOS, Switzerland – Real estate, once considered as a tech-phobic industry, is going through a tech revolution. Last year was the biggest year yet for VC funding of real estate technology or proptech, and while WeWork’s failed IPO attempt has led to some scepticism, it has also brought more eyeballs than ever before. As in other verticals, data is driving a lot of the changes....View Article
Jan 21, 2020
Brick And Mortar Is Not Dead: Retail Real Estate Persists
Forbes— The retail landscape is changing, but brick-and-mortar storefronts aren’t going anywhere. Competition-driven retailers are finding innovative ways to “internet-proof” their operations and identify viable storefront locations that successfully position them to reach their target customers. Retail continues to represent a good potential investment for real estate investors who anticipate the highest and best use and retail operators who embrace tech to stay competitive in the digital market place....View Article
Jan 21, 2020
Goldman Sachs CEO On WeWork: ‘I’m Not Sure That We Got It So Wrong'
Forbes— Topline: When asked about WeWork during a World Economic Forum panel at Davos on Tuesday, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs defended the bank’s work on the embattled coworking company’s botched public listing, while also acknowledging that valuations for tech startups have become skyhigh and need to become more grounded in reality....View Article
Jan 21, 2020
LANE OPENS NEW TORONTO HEADQUARTERS FOLLOWING YEAR OF GROWTH
Betakit— Proptech startup Lane has opened a new corporate headquarters in downtown Toronto after a year of significant growth for the company. Already Toronto-based, Lane is moving headquarters in order to accommodate its expanding team....View Article
Jan 21, 2020
Avison Young’s Top CRE Trends for 2020
Commercial Property Executive— A global forecast, combined with local market reports, are providing commercial real estate owners and occupiers with information on how those trends can impact their investments in the year ahead. Avison Young’s global report also provides perspectives for property owners and occupiers on how global events, trends and indicators could impact commercial real estate this year....View Article
Jan 21, 2020
Just about every store at the mall is struggling. Then there’s Bath & Body Works.
The Washington Post— There is only one reason Abigail Burt goes to the mall anymore: to smell the candles at Bath & Body Works. The 21-year-old college student stops in each month, whether she has spending money or not, then makes a beeline for the exit, bypassing every other store. “Every time a new scent comes out, my roommate and I are like, ‘We’ve got to try it,'” she said. “I walk in and just feel so happy." For three decades, Bath & Body Works has been an enduring and unexpected bright spot in the now-crumbling landscape of America’s malls.....View Article
Jan 21, 2020
Tesla becomes more valuable than GM and Ford combined
New York Post— Tesla this week became more valuable than the two largest American automakers combined — leaving some Wall Street analysts skeptical.The electric car company’s shares climbed nearly 5 percent to close at a record high of $492.14 Wednesday, giving it a market capitalization of more than $88.7 billion....View Article
Jan 21, 2020
Luxembourg Becomes First Country to Make All Public Transit Free
Arch Daily— Luxembourg is set to become the world's first country to make all of its public transportation free. The newly re-elected prime minister Xavier Bettel and the coalition government have announced that they will lift all fares on trains, trams and buses next summer. Taking aim at long commutes and the country’s carbon footprint, the new move hopes to alleviate some of the worst traffic congestion in the world....View Article
Jan 21, 2020
Carney Takes Climate Finance Envoy Role, UN’s Guterres Says
Bloomberg— Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has accepted the role of special envoy for climate action and finances, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said....View Article
Jan 21, 2020
Firms ignoring climate crisis will go bankrupt, says Mark Carney
The Guardian— Companies and industries that are not moving towards zero-carbon emissions will be punished by investors and go bankrupt, the governor of the Bank of England has warned.Mark Carney also told the Guardian it was possible that the global transition needed to tackle the climate crisis could result in an abrupt financial collapse....View Article
Jan 19, 2020
The EU wants to create 10 million smart lampposts
World Economic Forum— Lampposts are rarely in the limelight. Gene Kelly climbed on one in the iconic Hollywood movie Singin’ in the Rain, but for most of the time the humble lamppost is just that. But not for long.The European Union’s Humble Lamppost project aims to give a new lease of life to a long neglected resource by making them an integral part of the development of smart cities....View Article
Jan 17, 2020
Fifth Wall launches $200m carbon fund in ‘pitchfork moment’
Radius Data Exchange— “This is one of the biggest things to happen to real estate since the invention of the internet.” That is Brendan Wallace’s reasoning behind the launch this week of Fifth Wall’s $200m (£153m) Carbon Impact Fund. Speaking to EG, Fifth Wall’s co-founder and managing partner warns that 2020 will be the year everyone realises that, above all else, climate change is “a real estate problem” as he urges the sector to prepare for a “pitchfork moment”....View Article
Jan 17, 2020
Toronto on track to have more skyscrapers than Chicago, but will quality match quantity?
CBC— It's no secret that Toronto is getting taller. You can see the evidence throughout the downtown skyline and beyond. But what Torontonians might not know is that their city could soon outstrip Chicago in the number of skyscrapers over 150 metres.....View Article
Jan 14, 2020
Co-Living Grows Up
The New York Times— New Yorkers have long shared apartments in order to afford the city’s famously high rents. This, of course, often entails hunting down an apartment with a real estate agent — and paying a broker’s fee, plus a hefty deposit — then furnishing the place, lining up roommates and getting electricity and internet service up and running.....View Article
Jan 13, 2020
Walmart Expands Its Robotic Workforce to 650 Additional Stores
Bloomberg— Walmart Inc.’s robot army is growing.The world’s largest retailer will add shelf-scanning robots to 650 more U.S. stores by the end of the summer, bringing its fleet to 1,000....View Article
Dec 11, 2019
This Alberta real estate company's shares are up 70% this year, despite the province's struggles
Financial Post— At a time when the capital markets are skittish about Alberta’s energy sector, a local publicly traded real estate company is proving that the province is no wasteland for growth....View Article
Dec 10, 2019
All systems go: 1st all-electric seaplane takes flight in B.C.
CBC British Colombia— It was a short but historic moment on the Fraser River on Tuesday morning as Vancouver-based Harbour Air completed the debut test flight of what aims to be the world's first fully electric commercial aircraft....View Article
Dec 10, 2019
Amazon to take over entire former Canada Post building in downtown Vancouver
Vancouver Sun— Amazon’s lease of the entire former Canada Post building in downtown Vancouver is large enough to reduce the city’s projected office vacancy by two per cent, commercial property insiders say.Last week, the it was reported that Amazon had agreed to lease all of the 1.13 million square feet of QuadReal’s two-tower building called The Post, the former Canada Post site on Georgia Street that is now undergoing a major redevelopment.....View Article
Dec 10, 2019
CAPREIT Significantly Expands Presence in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Markets Insider— TORONTO, Dec. 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (“CAPREIT”) (TSX:CAR.UN) announced today that it has waived conditions and agreed to acquire, subject to regulatory approvals, a portfolio of eight properties containing fourteen apartment buildings totaling 1,503 rental suites, well-located throughout the downtown core and surrounding metro area of Halifax, Nova Scotia.....View Article
Dec 5, 2019
Apartment execs share strategies, update developments
RENX— With Canada’s population growing rapidly, nationwide demand for apartments continues to be strong. That has created significant development and redevelopment activity.When five senior industry executives convened for a panel discussion about the apartment market at the Real Estate Forum Dec. 5 in Toronto, they offered insights into the strategies their companies are employing.....View Article
Dec 5, 2019
A View from the North: Takeaways from the Global Property Market Conference and the Toronto Real Estate Forum
National Real Estate Investor— For several years conversation in the commercial real estate industry has centered on the unusually long length of the current expansion cycle and how we must be in its late stages. But more than 10 years in, while growth in many fundamentals has slowed, the cycle marches on. That’s led some experts to ask whether we’ve entered a new kind of cycle marked by prolonged periods of low growth, low inflation and low interest rates. Such an environment would prove favorable for continued stability in the commercial real estate sector for the foreseeable future....View Article
Dec 2, 2019
How Automation in Real Estate Became A $100 Billion Opportunity. Who Will Be Disrupted?
Forbes— In 2018, the U.S. housing market increased its value by $1.9 trillion, bringing the total market size to $33.3 trillion, with an annual sales volume of $1.7 trillion. With fees around real estate transactions that can consume up to 10% of the property sale price, the size of the new dynamic sector that I will write about below can total up to $170 billion per year (with technology eating $100 billion of it as per venture capitalists)....View Article
Nov 19, 2019
Toronto's New Airbnb Rules Will Return Thousands of Units to Housing Market
Vice News— The city of Toronto has the green light to go ahead with new rules limiting Airbnb and short-term rentals. On Monday, a provincial tribunal finally ruled on the matter after two years in limbo, siding with Toronto and rejecting an appeal by a group of landlords....View Article
Nov 14, 2019
Renters expect tech: Can you deliver?
RENX— Today’s renters want modern conveniences that go beyond updated appliances and new carpeting. Increasingly, renters expect property management companies to use technology that adds convenience and speeds up communication. In the face of new data supporting this shift, are your properties prepared to keep up?...View Article
Nov 14, 2019
As birthrates fall, countries will be forced to adapt or fall behind.
Bloomberg Businessweek— At least two children per woman—that’s what’s needed to ensure a stable population from generation to generation. In the 1960s, the fertility rate was five live births per woman. By 2017 it had fallen to 2.43, close to that critical threshold....View Article
Nov 6, 2019
This Interactive Map Shows The Quebec Areas That Could Be Underwater Within Our Lifetime
MTLBlog— A new report released by Climate Central is looking into the future of flooding as sea levels rise at an increasingly alarming rate. A new interactive map shows regions where it is common to already see flooding in Quebec.....View Article
Nov 10, 2019
They came here as immigrants. Now, they’re giving back by leasing a huge property to the city to house refugees
Toronto Star— For six years, Ali Mesgarzadeh lived in limbo in the United States, unable to return to his home and family in Tehran during the turmoil of the Iranian Revolution and later the Iran-Iraq War.Then Canada opened its doors.... View Article
Nov 6, 2019
Ikea is finally opening a store in downtown toronto
BlogTO— The options for buying expensive furniture are endless in Toronto's downtown core: A $4,000 futon from West Elm here, a $700 mirror from CB2 there... you could furnish your entire living room in a single afternoon, if only you had the extra cash.... View Article
Nov 6, 2019
Ikea plans to open small stores in Toronto core as consumers crave convenience
CTV News— Ikea Canada plans to open its first smaller, downtown store format in the country in Toronto within the next two years..... View Article
Nov 1, 2019
This Interactive Map Shows The Quebec Areas That Could Be Underwater Within Our Lifetime
MTLBlog— A new report released by Climate Central is looking into the future of flooding as sea levels rise at an increasingly alarming rate. A new interactive map shows regions where it is common to already see flooding in Quebec.....View Article
Nov 1, 2019
UK Coliving company The Collective expands to the US with a Long Island City property that blurs the line between coliving and short-term rentals
Business Insider— Subscription Required.... View Article
Nov 1, 2019
RBC Canadian Core Real Estate Fund raises $1.25 billion in first equity tranche, exceeding subscription targets
Yahoo Finance— TORONTO , Nov. 1, 2019 /CNW/ - RBC Global Asset Management Inc. (RBC GAM Inc.) today announced the first closing of the RBC Canadian Core Real Estate Fund (the Fund), which attracted more than $1.25 billion in equity commitments from institutional and individual investors, materially exceeding subscription targets....View Article
Oct 30, 2019
Commercial Real Estate: Too many barriers to building rental apartments, says analyst
Vancouver Sun— Various taxes and policies by all levels of government have not resulted in the development of enough new purpose-built rental apartments to keep up with renter demand in Metro Vancouver, says a local property data company....View Article
Oct 29, 2019
Sidewalk labs and waterfront toronto reach tentative deal for neighbourhood of the future
BlogTo— Sidewalk Labs will proceed with its plan to build a high tech "city within a city" along Toronto's eastern waterfront, according to unnamed sources who spoke to multiple local media outlets — but it'll be way, way smaller than what the American firm proposed in its June master plan....View Article
Oct 29, 2019
A New Twist on Vancouver’s Skyline
New York Times— VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A pioneer in high-density urban development, Vancouver is famous for its approach to city planning, heavy on tall glass towers perched atop low-rise podiums interspersed by parks and low-rise buildings....View Article
Oct 29, 2019
Toronto City Council approves first comprehensive automated vehicles plan for a North American city
City of Toronto— Toronto City Council has approved the Automated Vehicles (AV) Tactical Plan and Readiness 2022 report. This is the first comprehensive plan of its kind for a North American city....View Article
Oct 28, 2019
’Tis the Season for Surge Robots as Holiday Hiring Finds Automation
Wall Street Journal— The holiday hiring frenzy is under way and robots are joining the rush to seasonal jobs.Retailers and logistics operators facing a tight labor market are ramping up automation at warehouses for the holidays, when online order volumes can surge tenfold as consumers load up digital shopping carts in the weeks around Thanksgiving and Christmas....View Article
Oct 25, 2019
Home prices climb in Montreal, with no end in sight
Montreal Gazette— If you’re thinking of getting into the market to buy a house, you should know: Waiting could cost you. Prices in Montreal have been rising steadily during the past few years, and the momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing.......View Article
Oct 22, 2019
First Capital Submits Urban Vision for 28 Acre Christie's Plant Site
Urban Toronto— If there was any question whether First Capital Realty were serious about building something substantial and out-of-the-ordinary when they bought the 11 ha/28 acre former Christie's Cookies plant site at Park Lawn and Lake Shore in the Toronto borough of Etobicoke, any doubts would have been erased for observers of the world's city-building scene when the company hired Allies and Morrison of London to lead the master planning with Toronto's renowned Urban Strategies Inc. Architects and Urban Planners......View Article
Oct 21, 2019
Hudson’s Bay Company Agrees to Be Taken Private at $10.30 per
Hudson's Bay Company—TORONTO & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2019-- Hudson's Bay Company (TSX: HBC) ("HBC" or the “Company”) today announced that, based on the unanimous recommendation of an independent Special Committee of its Board of Directors (the “Special Committee”) following an extensive review and analysis, it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement (the “Arrangement Agreement”) with a group of HBC shareholders (the “Shareholder Group”) to take the Company private....View Article
Oct 21, 2019
COSTCO CONTINUES PHENOMENAL GROWTH AS IT BECOMES CANADA'S 2ND LARGEST RETAILER
Retail Insider—Retail giant Costco is poised to continue to grow its market share in Canada in the coming years and widen its sales margin over Walmart as the second highest in the country behind Loblaws, says a retail expert......View Article
Oct 20, 2019
Thomas Cook collapse a big threat to Spain's tourist industry
BBC— The sudden collapse last month of one of Europe's biggest travel groups, Thomas Cook, ruined the holidays of 600,000 stranded tourists.Hundreds of thousands more had trips booked when the news was announced.....View Article
Oct 16, 2019
NYU professor Scott Galloway says that WeWork is a sign of things to come, as more tech companies crash and burn: ‘The world is not as impressed with Silicon Valley as Silicon Valley is with itself’
Business Insider— Scott Galloway, the best-selling author and well-known tech-industry pundit, is a professor of marketing at New York University's Stern School of Business. His weekly business videos at Section4 and Winners & Losers have generated millions of views.............View Article
Oct 16, 2019
Ottawa house prices jump 8.3% in September. Yes, that may be a cooling.
Ottawa Citizen— Maybe, just maybe, a slight cooling of Ottawa’s housing market is at hand. The average resale price for residential properties in September climbed 8.3 per cent year over year to $487,400 according to data published Wednesday by the Ottawa Real Estate Board. ............View Article
Oct 7, 2019
High rents, scorching market give rise to another real estate IPO
The Globe and Mail— High rents, scorching market give rise to another real estate IPO.............View Article
Oct 3, 2019
CoStar Agrees to Buy Hotel Data Firm STR
Wall Street Journal— CoStar Group Inc., which has built a multibillion-dollar business out of selling commercial real-estate data, is making a push into the lodging industry with a deal to buy the hotel data firm STR for $450 million.............View Article
Oct 2, 2019
IWG CEO CANADA & LATIN AMERICA TALKS REAL-ESTATE TRENDS IN CALGARY, OTTAWA AND TORONTO
IWG— Finding the right place to locate your company not only plays a vital part in its success but can also be one of the biggest capital expenditures you have to make – so it’s not surprising that the property industry surrounding it has become big business. ............View Article
Sept 1, 2019
Vancouver’s rental incentive programs under the microscope
Vancouver Courier— A look into how the City of Vancouver’s existing rental incentive programs can be improved, streamlined, produce more supply and create increased affordability has reached the public feedback stage.............View Article
Sept 25, 2019
Amazon wants you to be surrounded with Alexa—wherever you are
MIT Technology Review— The news: Amazon unveiled a dizzying number of new gadgets yesterday, including wireless earphones (Echo Buds), a smart ring (Echo Loop), and smart glasses (Echo Frames)............View Article
Sept 23, 2019
Industry Veteran John G. Crombie Joins Cushman & Wakefield as Head of Retail Services for Canada
Cushman & Wakefield— TORONTO, September 3, 2019 – Industry leader John G. Crombie has joined global commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) as Executive Managing Director, Retail Services, Canada...........View Article
Sept 23, 2019
WeWork CEO Adam Neumann ousted as company runs low on cash
CBS News— WeWork, the office space sharing company that has become the biggest tenant in New York City and a major force in driving commercial real estate prices around the U.S............View Article
Sept 23, 2019
Jeff Bezos unveils sweeping plan to tackle climate change
CNBC— Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says Amazon is committed to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement 10 years early............View Article
Sept 20, 2019
Airbnb To Go Public In 2020
Crunchbase News— Airbnb is not in a rush to go public. According to a brief statement issued by the company today, the San Francisco-based travel company said “it expects to become a publicly-traded company during 2020.”...........View Article
Sept 18, 2019
Fees on Toronto Homes Among Highest in North America, Group Says
Blomberg— New-home buyers in the Toronto region are facing some of the highest government-related charges in North America, according to a new report by Altus Group...........View Article
Sept 7, 2019
Blackstone to acquire Dream Global for $6.2B
RENX— Dream Global REIT (DRM-T and DRM.PR.A) says it has an agreement to be acquired by affiliates of U.S.-based real estate giant Blackstone in an all-cash transaction valued at $6.2 billion (all figures Canadian)............View Article
Sept 6, 2019
Massive Union Park Zoning Application Submitted to the City
Urban Toronto— In late June, Oxford Properties came to the table with a sneak peak at Union Park, a completely redesigned version of mega-proposal 'Oxford Place' that was originally put forth in 2012. ...........View Article
Sept 6, 2019
IKEA is designing homes adjusted for people with dementia
DesignBoom— Swedish furniture giant IKEA has partnered with construction company boklok to launch affordable, flat-pack housing for people suffering with dementia. ...........View Article
Sept 6, 2019
Demand is growing for multi-generational housing. This North York condo developer is listening
Toronto Star— A North York condo development is betting that families are ready to swap houses for condos — and is hoping to break new ground by offering three-bedroom units targeting families and multi-generational.......View Article
Sept 6, 2019
Oxford revamps global leadership, pushes into digital innovation
Real Estate Weekly— Oxford Properties Group announced a series of changes to its leadership team and the appointment of Dean Hopkins as Chief Operations Officer.The changes come at a time of rapid worldwide growth for Oxford, which grew its assets under management by a third last year...........View Article
Aug 26, 2019
Why house prices in global cities are falling
The Economist— Entre point, a tower that looms over central London, was empty for so long in the 1970s that it lent its name to a homelessness charity. Recently it was converted from offices to flats. Half are yet to find buyers. So the developer has taken them off the market pending a clearing of the political fog over Britain. ...........View Article
Aug 26, 2019
Jobs lost, jobs gained: What the future of work will mean for jobs, skills, and wages
McKinsey & Co.— In an era marked by rapid advances in automation and artificial intelligence, new research assesses the jobs lost and jobs gained under different scenarios through 2030.............View Article
Aug 26, 2019
Every study we could find on what automation will do to jobs, in one chart
MIT Technology Review— You’ve seen the headlines: “Robots Will Destroy Our Jobs—and We’re Not Ready for It.” “You Will Lose Your Job to a Robot—and Sooner Than You Think.”.........View Article
Aug 26, 2019
The robots are coming for your job, too
CNN— Long the prediction of futurists and philosophers, the lived reality of technology replacing human work has been a constant feature since the cotton gin, the assembly line and, more recently, the computer.............View Article
Aug 26, 2019
The Fastest-Growing U.S. Cities Aren’t What You Think
CityLab— Looking at the population and job growth of large cities proper, rather than their metro areas, uncovers some surprises............View Article
Aug 22, 2019
Nixing Silicon Valley, US companies are now tapping Canada for tech talent
CNBC— In 2018 Sarah Nahm, CEO of Lever, a human resources software company that uses analytics to help its clients hire, began scouring the U.S. for a place to set up a second headquarters. ............View Article
Aug 22, 2019
First National’s Development Charges Index
First National Financial LP— First National publishes its Development Charges Index frequently based on constant, cross-Canada surveys of charges levied by selected municipalities. This is our Summer 2019 edition and it is based on the latest available data from 2018 and 2019. With many communities entering a new budgetary cycle, and contemplating increases, watch for an update................View Article
Aug 22, 2019
12 towers proposed near Rogers Place in downtown Edmonton’s Ice District
Global News— The Katz Group has big plans to develop the area east and north of Rogers Place that could possibly see 12 high-rise towers join the downtown Edmonton skyline..............View Article
Aug 22,2019
Commercial real estate market proving robust in Metro Vancouver
Vancouver Courier— Vacancy rates are tight and lease rates have risen across office, industrial and retail sectors, reports market intelligence firm CoStar Group.............View Article
Aug 21, 2019
Delivery Robots May Be a Novelty Today, but They’ll Be a Property Management Disruptor Soon
PropModo— Galaxy’s Edge, Disneyland’s Star Wars-themed park, may have recently opened, but people won’t have to travel to “The House of the Mouse” to get a droid-delivered sandwich. Instead, they need only take the trip to San Francisco, which is about to launch a trial of an unmanned ground vehicle meal service with food delivery app Postmates................View Article
Aug 20, 2019
Goldman Sachs unit invests in Toronto-based Slate Asset Management
BNN Bloomberg— TORONTO -- Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) asset management-focused unit has taken a minority stake in Toronto-based alternative investment firm Slate Asset Management LP...............View Article
Aug 20, 2019
Empty Calgary office building transformed into rental apartments in first-of-its-kind project
Calgary Herald— A unique office-to-residential conversion in Calgary's Beltline neighbourhood is being praised as a creative response to the city's ongoing economic downturn..................View Article
Aug 19, 2019
AT&T to Auction Off a Portion of Its U.S. Real Estate Portfolio
Co-Star— Only months following AT&T's whopper $2.2 billion sale-leaseback deal involving property in Manhattan's Hudson Yards, the telecommunications giant has broadened its strategy to sell off even more of its real estate portfolio in similar sale-leaseback deals throughout the country..................View Article
Aug 19, 2019
Daniel Fournier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ivanhoé Cambridge, announces retirement
Yahoo Finance— MONTRÉAL, Aug. 14, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - After more than ten years of service at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), including over nine as the CEO of Ivanhoé Cambridge , Daniel Fournier has announced that he will retire in fall 2019. To ensure an orderly transition, Mr. Fournier will continue to serve in his role until October 15, 2019 ..................View Article
Aug 19, 2019
UPS Invests In Autonomous Trucking Company TuSimple
Supply Chain 24/7— TuSimple believes it could save UPS roughly 30% on average transportation costs, particularly during peak season when the carrier often contracts out deliveries to third-party providers..................View Article
Aug 19, 2019
National Rent Report Proves How Bad Rent Inflation Is Getting
Toronto Storeys— Not only are homes becoming more unaffordable across Canada, but so it rent. Four in 10 Canadians spend more than one-third of their income on housing, while another one-third rely on their parents to help pay rental costs.................View Article
Aug 19, 2019
The climate crisis, migration, and refugees
Brookings— On March 14, 2019, Tropical Cyclone Idai struck the southeast coast of Mozambique. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reported that 1.85 million people needed assistance. .................View Article
Aug 19, 2019
Liberals announce $184 million for housing projects in Vancouver
Vancouver Courier— The federal government announced Wednesday morning a $184-million investment to fast-track the construction of affordable housing on city-owned sites in Vancouver................View Article
Aug 19, 2019
Greater Vancouver Board of Trade says more housing needed near SkyTrain stations
Daily Hive— The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT) has provided its own analysis of the state of Metro Vancouver’s housing market, specifically on how the federal government can help address the ongoing affordability and supply issues.................View Article
Aug 19, 2019
64 percent of retailers are opening new stores in 2019: Report
ICSC— New data show that more retailers are opening stores than are closing them. This is part of a cycle that retail landlords have been riding for decades.................View Article
Aug 19, 2019
Silicon Valley Looks North as Tech Giants Expand in Toronto
Wall Street Journal— TORONTO—Silicon Valley is invading Toronto.Intel Corp. has announced plans to build a graphics-chip design lab in Canada’s largest city. Car-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc. will be opening an engineering hub...............View Article
Aug 14, 2019
‘CAVE people’ disrupt Metro Vancouver multi-family rentals
Business in Vancouver— There is a new term bandied about now in Vancouver’s long-suffering rental housing market as developers and landlords attempt to meet tenant demand in a city with the highest rents and the lowest vacancy rates in the country................View Article
Aug 14 2019
Amazon sells a $19,000 do-it-yourself tiny-home kit that takes only 2 days to build — here's what it looks like inside
Business Insider— Amazon prides itself on being the go-to easy-to-use online marketplace for everything you need - and that apparently includes tiny houses.Tiny homes have become increasingly popular in the past few years, whether that's because of rising costs of living or because they encourage minimalist living. Tiny homes make it possible to own your own property, even if that house measures only between 100 and 400 square feet................View Article
Aug 14, 2019
Daniel Fournier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ivanhoé Cambridge, announces retirement
Ivanhoé Cambridge— After more than ten years of service at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), including over nine as the CEO of Ivanhoé Cambridge, Daniel Fournier has announced that he will retire in fall 2019. To ensure an orderly transition, Mr. Fournier will continue to serve in his role until October 15, 2019................View Article
Aug 13 2019
A new market experience evolves from old shipping containers and a new retail vision
The Globe and Mail— On any given weekend, close to Bathurst and Front streets in downtown Toronto, you’ll find a block-long line of people taking shape. Even early in the morning, the line consists of urbanites, hipsters, and tourists – all waiting patiently for donuts. ...............View Article
Aug 13 2019
He Built A $2.5 Billion Business At Age 50 That Is Disrupting A 7,000 Year Old Industry
Forbes— Dr. Joe DeSimone took his own path to entrepreneurship. His latest venture, Carbon, is changing the way things are made.He’s assembled one of the most impressive Board of Directors and line up of investors to transform the $300 billion manufacturing industry. ...............View Article
Aug 13, 2019
WiredScore Names Andrew Freitas as Head of Canada
WoredScore— CRE veteran to spearhead WiredScore’s expansion across the country and set a new standard for internet and telecom connectivity in commercial office buildings................View Article
Aug 13, 2019
Moodys Retail properties in Canada have advantages over Their US COUNTERPARTS, A BENIFIT FOR CANADIAN CMBS
Moody's Investors Service— Commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) generally benifit from exposure to retail properties in Canada................View Article
Aug 13, 2019
TORONTO-BASED PROPTECH PROPERLY RAISES $22 MILLION SERIES A
BetaKit— Properly, a Toronto-based proptech startup, has closed a $22 million Series A financing round, consisting of $12 million in equity and an initial $10 million debt facility.................View Article
Aug 12, 2019
ector hoogstad architecten builds the world's biggest bicycle parking in utrecht
DesignBoom— Located under the surface of utrecht’s central railway station in the netherlands lies a huge bicycle garage designed by ector hoogstad architecten to accommodate a staggering 12,500 bikes. promoting the already established culture of cycling amongst the dutch people, the project has been envisioned to provide a unique experience to cyclists while improving the city’s infrastructure. ................View Article
Aug 12, 2019
Developers can't get enough of new Canada loans for rentals
BNN Bloomberg— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ramped up loans to boost rental housing in Canada and developers are snapping them up.Demand has been so hot for the low-cost loans from Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. that the government plans to increase the program to almost $14 billion over the next nine years. That’s up from $2.5 billion when it was launched in 2017................View Article
Aug 12, 2019
INTRODUCING: VAUGHAN RISING PODCAST
City of Vaughan— Vaughan is a city on the move. Major developments, a business-friendly climate and a bold approach to city building have created unprecedented opportunities for businesses and residents................View Article
Aug 9, 2019
European heatwave made up to 100 times more likely due to climate change
University of Oxford— Record-breaking July 2019 heatwave would have been extremely unlikely without human-induced climate change in many parts of continental Europe, shows a near real-time analysis from World Weather Attribution and partners including Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute (ECI)................View Article
Aug 9, 2019
ROUND AROUND - A bridge made of boats
MIT— Researchers at MIT, in collaboration with the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute), have developed the concept of roundAround, the world’s first dynamic ‘bridge’ made of autonomous boats, or Roboats.........View Article
July 22, 2019
Apartment oversupply puts squeeze on rents
An investor-led building boom has almost doubled the size of the Sydney apartment rental market in two years, forcing landlords to drop rents more than $100 a week in some areas to secure tenants, and casting a shadow over the thousands of units still under construction...................View Article
July 22, 2019
China Growth at Its Slowest Since 1992 as Beijing Struggles to Juice Economy
BEIJING—China’s economic growth decelerated to its slowest pace in decades, weakened by trade tensions with the U.S. and businesses that held back from making big investments despite encouragement from Beijing........View Article
July 15, 2019
New York's public housing is in crisis. Can architects design the way out?
The Regional Plan Association (RPA) has selected architects Miriam Peterson and Nathan Rich of Peterson Rich Office (PRO) to dream up housing and maintenance strategies for New York City’s deteriorating public housing for the nonprofit planning think tank’s newly-funded chair of urban design. The joint appointment will give the pair the opportunity to build on past work that reimagined the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) developments.......................View Article
July 14, 2019
realtrends: spotlight on innovation in the technology landscape, office & industrial statistics, deals of the week and more
A bi-weekly newsletter presented by Canadian Real Estate Forums which examines current trends, market opportunities and challenges to help shape your strategy.....................View Article
July 4, 2019
CBRE PRESENTS REAL NEWS: CANADIAN MORTGAGE COMMENTARY, VIDEOS & REAL PRESENTATIONS FROM LAND & DEVELOPMENT 2019
A bi-weekly newsletter presented by CBRE and Canadian Real Estate Forums that delivers national and international real estate market news right to your inbox...............View Article
June 20, 2019
How Far Will Google’s Billion-Dollar Bay Area Housing Plan Go?
On Tuesday, Google announced plans to invest $1 billion dollars in land and money to construct housing in the Bay Area over the next decade............View Article
June 19, 2019
Dori Segal reflects on the rise of First Capital Realty
Dori Segal launched First Capital Realty Inc.with the 2000 acquisition of Centrefund Realty Corporation and helped build it into one of Canada’s largest owners, developers and operators of necessity-based real estate............View Article
June 19, 2019
Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency, Libra, Gets Big Backers
Facebook Inc. has signed up more than a dozen companies including Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., PayPal Holdings Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. to back a new cryptocurrency it plans to unveil next week and launch next year............View Article
June 11, 2019
A thriving architecture scene rises in Toronto
Toronto has long seen itself as the underdog. No more. This year’s playoff run by the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball League, who are on the cusp of an unlikely victory as the league’s champions, reflects a new and more braggadocious spirit in Canada’s largest city...............View Article
June 10, 2019
The transformative potential of legal cannabis on the Ontario real estate landscape
It has been more than three months since recreational cannabis was legalized in Canada on October 17, 2018 and the transformation is still unfolding as legal, social, and economic frameworks get implemented.............View Article
June 5, 2019
Air Canada signs deal with Drone Delivery Canada to market and sell services
Air Canada signs deal with Drone Delivery Canada to market and sell servicesThe Canadian PressAir Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet tail is seen on the tarmac at Toronto Pearson International Airport on March 13, 2019 in Toronto, Canada............View Article
June 3, 2019
Toronto Was the Second Fastest Growing Metropolitan Area and the Top Growing City in All of the United States and Canada
There has been a great deal of media coverage regarding the latest population growth estimates for U.S. metropolitan areas and central cities released by the U.S. Census Bureau for the 12 months ending July 1, 2018...........View Article
May 31, 2019
CBRE’s Morassutti talks about housing affordability
CBRE Limited vice-chairman Paul Morassutti focused much of his address to a large audience at the Land & Development Conference on the issue of affordable housing.........View Article
May 21, 2019
These 3 things happened after Portland enacted inclusionary zoning
On February 1, 2017, an inclusionary zoning ordinance came into effect in Portland, mandating that all new residential projects with 20 or more units dedicate a portion of the building to affordable housing..........View Article
May 6, 2019
How Does WeWork Make Money?
WeWork is one of the world's most valuable startups, though just how its business works is widely misunderstood. We look at how WeWork makes money, where it spends it, and how its flywheel operates..........View Article
May 3, 2019
How WeWork plans to fix Canada's office space constraints for growing businesses with 'no place to go'
WeWork is offering a new office concept to businesses seeking office space in downtown Toronto and Vancouver as vacant spaces hit an all-time low..........View Article
April 30, 2019
Who's behind the smiling faces of some Airbnb hosts? Multimillion-dollar corporations
Sporting a crisp button-up shirt in his profile photo, smiling Airbnb host "Alejandro" states he's been around the world and thus understands other travellers "much better."..........View Article
April 18, 2019
Co-Working Giant Looks to McDonald’s Model to Fend Off WeWork
The world’s largest flexible-office company, trying to fend off a challenge from upstart WeWork Cos., is harking back to a business model popularized decades ago by fast-food chain McDonald’s Corp.........View Article
April 17, 2019
9 myths about Vancouver’s rental market
With all the upheavals in rental housing right now, there are many myths being bandied about. When industry spokespeople talk about the realities of creating and maintaining rental supply, they’re often accused of fear-mongering. We beg to differ—it’s time to separate fact from fiction. ........View Article
April 17, 2019
Urgent action required: City of New Westminster moves to arbitrarily downzone and devalue multi-family property
Over the last number of years, we’ve been quite congratulatory in our missives in relation to the City of New Westminster. The City has pushed through some very progressive policies to help incentivize large-scale new rental buildings, knowing they’re desperately needed. As a result, percentage-wise, New West has probably seen the largest increase in new rental supply in the region........View Article
April 15, 2019
HOW ARE CONDOS USED?
Condominium apartments are fascinating! At their heart lies a relatively recent legal innovation enabling individual ownership of units in multi-unit developments. Since their arrival, condominium apartments have become places to build homes, sources of rental income, sites of speculative real estate investment, and experiments in private democratic government........View Article
April 9, 2019
A LENDER'S PERSPECTIVE ON MONTREAL'S COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET
As Canada's largest commercial real estate lender, First National Financial makes financing decisions every day that
affect the growth and prosperity of communities and borrowers across the country........View Article
April 8, 2019
Ottawa pledges $1.3 billion for Toronto Community Housing repairs
After decades of neglect and underfunding, the federal government has pledged to invest $1.3 billion in Toronto Community Housing, money that will be used for badly needed repairs — such as improved accessibility..........View Article
March 22, 2019
Fiera Capital to acquire Integrated Asset Management
Fiera Capital Corporation (FSZ-T) says it has an agreement to acquire Integrated Asset Management. Fiera will pay about $74 million for the firm, which has about $3.1 billion in assets under management and committed capital..........View Article
March 13, 2019
Fiera Properties continues buying assets ‘coast to coast’
Fiera Properties Ltd. set a record for investment volumes last year, and is off to a fast start in 2019 with the acquisition of a 13-building office portfolio in Richmond, B.C.“We’re acquiring assets from coast to coast,” said Blair McCreadie, Fiera Properties’ executive vice-president and CORE Fund manager.........View Article
March 4, 2019
Slate Office REIT Reports Fourth Quarter 2018 Results and Positions the REIT for Continued Value Creation
TORONTO — Slate Office REIT (TSX: SOT.UN) (the “REIT”) reported today financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2018 that demonstrate positive momentum.........View Article
Feb 27, 2019
Tech likely Canada’s saviour if recession hits: Morassutti
If executives arrived at Tuesday’s Real Capital conference in Toronto with concerns about a downturn, CBRE’s Paul Morassutti likely put a bit more spring into their steps.........View Article
Feb 27, 2019
NEW HOME MARKET DATA
Toronto, Feb. 26, 2019 – In January, sales of new homes in the Greater Toronto Area showed a moderate increase from last year, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced today.A total of 1,362 new homes were sold in January 2019, which was 14 per cent more than the number sold in January of last year, according to Altus Group*, BILD’s official source for new home market intelligence........View Article
Feb 25, 2019
Tech Cities in Motion
Savills Tech Cities index measures 30 cities from around the world against 100 individual metrics, ranging from the volume of inward venture capital investment through to the cost of a flat white coffee, to establish which cities are the most successful homes for tech and start-up companies.......View Article
Feb 23, 2019
Ford government shuts down agency that helps people fight zoning appeals
The Ford government is closing a provincial agency that gives legal assistance to residents battling development changes in their local municipality. The Local Planning Appeal Support Centre was created just last year as part of the Wynne government's reforms to the former Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), a body long criticized for favouring developers in its decisions about zoning.......View Article
Feb 15, 2019
Dwight Capital Closes Over $1B in Loans in FY 2018; Remains a Top Multifamily HUD Lender
Dwight Capital, a leading real estate lending and investment company, announced that it has achieved another stellar year closing in excess of $1 billion in loans. Dwight’s performance has earned it a top-5 HUD Lender ranking for the fourth year in a row by both dollar volume and number of loans; additionally, Dwight also surpassed $3.25 billion in servicing volume.......View Article
Feb 8, 2019
Canadian venture capital firm Framework Venture Partners launches $115 million AI startup fund
Canada’s artificial intelligence (AI) startup scene is certifiably red hot. Companies like Element AI, Rubikloud, Interset, Mnubo, and Maropost have collectively raised close to $200 million alone, and in the second quarter of 2018, Canadian AI startups attracted $169 million (CAD $222 million) in venture capital financing — up 104 percent year over year.........View Article
Feb 4, 2019
Altus Group Report Reveals Rapid Acceleration of PropTech Adoption and Rise of Disintermediation as Major Trends Impacting the Commercial Real Estate Industry in 2019
Automation, use of AI and disintermediating business models having major impact on CRE industry; growing number of CRE firms are directly investing in PropTech companies.........View Article
Feb 4, 2019
New Condo Sales Decline to Decade Average in 2018
Urbanation Inc., the leading source of information and analysis on the GTA condominium market since 1981, released its year-end 2018 market results today. .........View Article
Jan 22, 2019
Microsoft’s Leap Into Housing Illuminates Government’s Retreat
With its $500 million pledge to address affordable housing in the Seattle area, Microsoft isn’t primarily cutting checks to local charities. Private companies have done that before. Nor is it proposing to create housing for its own employees, as corporations have done in the past, too..............View Article
Jan 22, 2019
Google to Lease Converted Mall in Race for L.A. Office Space
Google is expanding its footprint in Los Angeles with the lease of a planned 584,000-square-foot office campus that was formerly part of the Westside Pavilion shopping mall..............View Article
Jan 22, 2019
The World's Largest Real Estate Companies 2018
Unless you've visited Lower Manhattan in the past few years and strolled through its namesake shopping center, there's a decent chance you've never heard of Brookfield Asset Management.............View Article
Jan 21, 2019
Walmart exec reveals why it canceled its Amazon Go-like cashierless program in stores — and what the company is working on instead
NEW YORK CITY — A year ago, in January 2018, Walmart expanded its Scan & Go program to 125 stores, calling it a new way to shop with just your phone or a handheld device, and no interacting with cashiers.............View Article
Jan 9, 2019
SoftBank invests in parking startup ParkJockey pushing valuation to $1 billion
SoftBank continues to invest in the future of transportation — this time in ParkJockey, a startup that has built a technology platform aimed at monetizing parking lots. And ParkJockey, which was founded in 2013, is already using that capital to scale up.............View Article
Jan 9, 2019
WeWork’s Distinction as a Real Estate Company Might Have Lost It $14 Billion in Funding
The debate has been ongoing in the PropTech community. Is WeWork a disruptive technology company or is it just an innovative real estate business? The distinction might seem arbitrary. They are changing the way the business world thinks about work and the way the real estate world thinks about office space. Who cares how they are defined? ..........View Article
Jan 9, 2019
Amazon should buy 1,000 gas stations
DA Davidson’s Tom Forte believes that the future for Amazon ($AMZN) — besides dominating the cloud computing and e-commerce while disrupting other industries — involves filling up your gas tank. “If Amazon really wanted to make a splash, they could add 1,000-plus gas stations,” Forte said on Yahoo Finance’s Midday Movers. “It could be a sales lift for Amazon.” ..........View Article
Jan 9, 2019
Vancouver and Surrey’s mayors team up for transit
Adrienne Tanner is a Vancouver journalist who writes about civic affairs In many ways, the newly elected mayors of Vancouver and Surrey are unlikely bedfellows. Vancouver’s Kennedy Stewart is a former NDP MP who, shortly before he ran for mayor, linked arms with Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and was arrested at a Burnaby pipeline protest...........View Article
Jan 19, 2019
The changing face of Fifth Avenue and what it says about the future of retail
The landscape of New York’s Fifth Avenue is changing, with iconic American brands like Lord & Taylor, FAO Schwarz, and Gap shuttering their large, flagship stores. But it’s not all bad news. In their wake, newer, hipper brands are coming in.............View Article
Dec 19, 2018
Bentall Kennedy and GreenOak Real Estate announce mergerto form Bentall GreenOak
Bentall Kennedy and GreenOak Real Estate announced today the signing of an agreement to merge the two firms into a leading global real estate investment platform. The combined entity will be named Bentall GreenOak............View Article
Dec 17, 2018
Toronto Avg Rental Rate to Increase by 11% in 2019
November and December are typically slow months for rental activity, and November 2018 was not representative of the trends experienced in the rental market this year............View Article
Dec 14, 2018
Global investment, capital flows solid heading into 2019
Two speakers with international perspectives addressed worldwide capital flow and issues shaping investment to open the Global Property Market conference on Nov. 27...........View Article
Dec 13, 2018
Uber Joins Lyft in Race to Tap Investors
Uber Technologies Inc. filed paperwork confidentially this week for its initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter, as it races with smaller rival Lyft Inc. to be the first to market..........View Article
Dec 12, 2018
A Private Sector Fix for Affordable Housing?
Steve Paikin speaks to Cary Green, a veteran housing developer and chairman of Greenwin Inc., about why he thinks development bonds are the ideal solution to Ontario's housing affordability crisis, and how they could also ease pressure on the beleaguered healthcare system...................View Article
Dec 12, 2018
softbank invests in parking startup parkjockey pushing valuation to $1billion
SoftBank continues to invest in the future of transportation — this time in ParkJockey, a startup that has built a technology platform aimed at monetizing parking lots. And ParkJockey, which was founded in 2013, is already using that capital to scale up..................View Article
Dec 12, 2018
Co-Living Company Raises €1B For Massive U.K. And European Push To Become 'The WeWork Of Co-Living'
Berlin-based co-living company Medici Living has raised €1B to undertake the largest investment in the nascent sector anywhere in the world so far.................View Article
Dec 12, 2018
Starwood CEO Barry Sternlicht: 'The Endgame For Amazon Is To Wipe Out Main Streets Of America'
Starwood Capital Group CEO Barry Sternlicht was not happy about Amazon's HQ2 decision and is sharply critical of the way fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos runs his company................View Article
Dec 3, 2018
The First REIT Gets Tokenized Using Harbor’s Compliance Protocol
The recent proliferation of blockchain technology, and the hype that went with it, created an onslaught of real estate companies looking to “tokenize” their properties...............View Article
Dec 3, 2018
Former Coal Plant to Become $4.6 Billion Oasis on Lake Ontario
Move over Google. There’s a new urban oasis coming to the shores of Lake Ontario...............View Article
Dec 3, 2018
Fiera Capital's $3-billion real estate unit plans global push
Quebec's biggest publicly traded asset manager is looking to make its first real-estate foray outside of Canada by the start of the next decade to diversify its holdings..............View Article
Dec 3, 2018
Economists warn recession on the way: TREF
Two highly respected economists offered different views of the severity of the next recession and its impact on real estate, but they were in lock-step on one point: the current cycle has run its course, and some sort of economic turmoil looms..............View Article
Dec 3, 2018
Risk and rewards of CRE investment in developing markets
Investing in real estate in developing markets can present different risk and reward opportunities than in more established countries, and some of these issues were discussed at the Global Property Market conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Nov. 27.............View Article
Dec 3, 2018
Canadian Company Is Looking to Make a Difference With PropTech Investments
Courtney Cooper is the Director of Corporate Development at Toronto-based Alate Partners, one of the newest companies focused on accelerating the development and adoption of technology for the real estate industry. The first thing that struck me when I met her is that she doesn’t fit the typical mold for someone in her position. I am not just talking about the fact that she is young and a woman............View Article
Dec 3, 2018
Royalmount mega mall project now includes up to 6,000 housing units
The developer behind a project to build a mega mall on Royalmount Ave. says it’s adding up to 6,000 units of housing to its plan to build millions of square feet of stores, restaurants, hotels, office towers, theatres, a cinema, a waterpark and other activities at the intersection of the Décarie Expressway and Metropolitan Autoroute...........View Article
Dec 3, 2018
The City of the Future Is a Data-Collection Machine
In Silicon Valley, to make a device “smart” means to add internet connectivity, allowing it to collect, send, and receive data, often while learning and adapting to user preferences..........View Article
Dec 3, 2018
Sidewalk Labs’s updated smart city plan aims for ‘people-first public realm’
Blockchain, the decentralized, open-ledger system which can record permanently multiple transactions, is about to come into its own as the world’s cities move towards digitalization. It portends the kind of urban revolution that cities haven’t seen since water-borne sewage enhanced city livability........View Article
Dec 3, 2018
blockchain, smart cities and the urban revolution
Blockchain, the decentralized, open-ledger system which can record permanently multiple transactions, is about to come into its own as the world’s cities move towards digitalization. It portends the kind of urban revolution that cities haven’t seen since water-borne sewage enhanced city livability........View Article
Dec 3, 2018
New to canada: yardi breeze property management software
Yardi has just released Yardi® Breeze in Canada. Yardi Breeze is refreshingly simple property management software built for property owners and operators with smaller portfolios.......View Article
Nov 23, 2018
Online Survey: Increasing Housing Supply in Ontario
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing invites you to share your ideas through Online Survey: Increasing Housing Supply in Ontario.......Take the Survey
Nov 20, 2018
Caution rising but capital keeps flowing into Vancouver market
When investment sales figures for the first half of 2018 began being released in September, signs pointed to a record year and rising caution. .......View Article
Nov 19, 2018
Opinions split on future of booming co-working model
About half of the industry stakeholders and observers think the rise of co-working brands such as WeWork and Spaces are little more than a fad, said office leasing specialist Ross Moore at a recent panel discussion in Vancouver. The other half, “think (co-working) is for real.”.......View Article
Nov 16, 2018
ALTUS GROUP LAUNCHES NEXT GENERATION SOFTWARE PLATFORM ARGUS CLOUD & WEB APPLICATION ARGUS ACQUIRE ENHANCE INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE FOR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY
Altus Group Limited (“Altus Group”) (TSX: AIF), a leading provider of software, data solutions and independent advisory services to the global commercial real estate (“CRE”) industry, announced today the launch of ARGUS Cloud and ARGUS Acquire.......View Article
Nov 16, 2018
WORLD'S BIGGEST COMPANIES PLAN TO GET DOWN WITH WE WORK EFFECT
The biggest employers on the planet see a future filled with free beer and new age motivational posters. Their offices will need to catch up......View Article
Nov 16, 2018
WEWORK'S RISE: HOW A SUBLET START-UP IS TAKING OVER
Critics have derided WeWork as overvalued and vulnerable to the next downturn. But the company holds so many leases in so many cities, it might hold more power than its landlords.. ....View Article
Nov 16, 2018
SOFTBANK INVESTS $3BILLION MORE IN WEWORK
WeWork, the co-working office company, has expanded rapidly over its eight-year life span, thanks in part to huge investments from SoftBank of Japan. ....View Article
Oct 29, 2018
HOW AUTONOMOUS CARS WILL RESHAPE OUR WORLD
Self-driving cars are just one piece of the puzzle. Former New York City traffic commissioner Samuel I. Schwartz (aka Gridlock Sam) explains.Nobody, not even transportation experts like me, had an inkling that ride-on-demand services like Uber would change our travel habits so quickly and dramatically. ....View Article
Oct 29, 2018
Rentlogic adds advisory board to weigh in on landlord ratings
When Yale Fox debuted Rentlogic in 2013, the Canadian transplant wanted to give New York City renters a resource so they never had to rent another terrible apartment from another terrible landlord ever again.............View Article
Oct 17, 2018
Will Real Estate Technology Automate You Out of a Job?
Technology is fundamentally altering every aspect of real estate. While many of its impacts are positive, increasing accuracy and speed for workers across the industry, some are left asking the question: will the wave of disruption overwhelm their firm............View Article
Oct 15, 2018
WeWork Dives Into Retail With WeMRKT
WeWork is expanding into selling Icelandic yogurt and chickpea snacks. The co-working space giant announced last Monday the launch of WeMRKT, a “modern retail space” that will be piloted at WeWork 205 Hudson in New York City.............View Article
Oct 15, 2018
How Jeff Bezos Uses Faster, Better Decisions To Keep Amazon Innovating
“Every day at Amazon is Day 1,” according to its CEO Jeff Bezos. He has reminded employees of this for decades -- Amazon will never stop being a startup. He even went so far as to name a building on Amazon's campus Day 1, and when Bezos switched buildings the name followed him to his new building.............View Article
Oct 15, 2018
Sears, the store that changed America, declares bankruptcy
New York (CNN Business)Sears, the once-dominant retail chain that changed how Americans shopped and lived, has filed for bankruptcy. The 132-year-old company has been struggling for several years and is drowning in debt. The final straw was a $134 million debt payment due Monday that it could not afford............View Article
Oct 12, 2018
Market Watch, September 2018 | Toronto Real Estate Market Update With Chris Kapches
The new normal in the Toronto residential real estate market has arrived. It has been finding its way for several months now, guided by the implementation of mortgage stress testing, the foreign buyer tax, and a number of mortgage interest rate hikes. It is now crystal clear, that the frenzied market of 2016 and early 2017 was in a phrase: driven by cheap, and easy money...........View Article
Oct 9, 2018
Major Climate Report Describes a Strong Risk of Crisis as Early as 2040
INCHEON, South Korea — A landmark report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change paints a far more dire picture of the immediate consequences of climate change than previously thought and says that avoiding the damage requires transforming the world economy at a speed and scale that has “no documented historic precedent..........View Article
Oct 4, 2018
It's Amazon's world. We just live in it.
Amazon.com isn't America's biggest company. By market cap, it trails Apple. Measured by number of employees, it's behind Walmart. By revenues, it's a distant eighth on the Fortune 500 list.........View Article
Oct 2, 2018
Rental giant Boardwalk bans all cannabis smoking and growing from its properties
A major landlord in Alberta will prohibit tenants from smoking and growing cannabis on its properties, even after the product is legalized in Canada on Oct. 17.In a notice sent to tenants this week, rental giant Boardwalk states the company "will not permit the use or cultivation of cannabis in our communities.".........View Article
Oct 2, 2018
Priced Out of the Housing Market
Owning a home is becoming a fantasy for all but the wealthiest families. Better urban planning is part of the solution. Adjusting our expectations may be another..........View Article
Oct 1, 2018
Sidewalk Labs launches research grants to study human behaviour
What kind of neighbour is most likely to water your plants while you’re away on vacation? How do you build community bonds in a neighbourhood without being overly contrived or prescriptive?..........View Article
Oct 1, 2018
This condo developer collected millions in deposits — and hasn’t built anything
On the opening day of sales for the glitzy new condo project in downtown Ajax, the lineup of hopeful buyers spilled out of the sales office onto the sidewalk, wrapped around the building and extended hundreds of metres..........View Article
Sept 24, 2018
Overflow crowd jams RealTrends panel on cannabis CRE
With Canada’s burgeoning cannabis industry projected to be worth $8-$10 billion annually, it’s no wonder an overflow crowd jammed a RealTrends forum recently to hear CRE experts discuss issues and opportunities in the sector..........View Article
Sept 24, 2018
Amazon and retail
This is an excellent talk by NYU professor Scott Galloway about Amazon, online grocery, and many other aspects of the retail landscape. The bits about Amazon’s scale and reach are fascinating.........View Article
Sept 11, 2018
Amazon Strategy Teardown: Amazon’s Barreling Into Physical Retail, Financial Services, Healthcare, And AI-Led Computing
Seattle-based Amazon is doubling down on AI for AWS and the ecosystem around its AI assistant, Alexa. It's seeking to become the central provider for AI-as-a-service. But it's not leaving retail behind either, running grocery, book, and convenience stores across the US.........View Article
Sept 11, 2018
WeWork’s $20 Billion Dream: The Lavishly Funded Startup That Could Disrupt Commercial Real Estate
With over $4B in funding, WeWork is expanding aggressively at home and abroad and pursuing diverse investments that have raised eyebrows. But its real-estate-as-a-service offering and trove of data on optimal office design could make the company's value prop far more than a marketing ploy.........View Article
Sept 10, 2018
Tridel Unveils Smart Condominium
Leading Canadian condominium developer Tridel unveiled its first smart condominium at Ten York, a newly completed 69-storey community in Toronto's downtown core..........View Article
Sept 7, 2018
Jeremy Wedgbury’s key insights from the 2018 Canadian Apartment Investment Conference
Insights from Jeremy Wedgbury during the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference on September 5, 2018..........View Article
Sept 6, 2018
Cochrane North wins approvals to begin development on new community
A community that will have about 425 homes and a design focused on green space will take shape on land that’s said to be about a two-minute drive north of Cochrane and 20 minutes from Calgary.........View Article
Sept 6, 2018
Brookfield lays out its Niido/Airbnb partner strategy
Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) has invested $200 million in a joint venture with Niido, Airbnb’s multi-family development partner, and managing director Jonathan Moore revealed more about the deal at the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference on Sept. 5........View Article
Sept 6, 2018
Canada Could Be the Next PropTech Hub
There are signs that Canada is poised to be one of the next major regions for property technology innovation. Tech aside, it has been quite a hot real estate market with JLL Canada reporting 1000% growth in the region in the last six years........View Article
Sept 6, 2018
Introduction to Proptec
We have been hearing a new buzzword on the street: Proptech. Yet most of us aren’t aware of this not-sorecent phenomenon. But what exactly is Proptech?.......View Article
Aug 27, 2018
Toyota to invest $500 million in Uber for self-driving cars
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) will invest $500 million in Uber Technologies Inc to jointly work on developing self-driving cars, the companies said on Monday, a bid by both to catch up to rivals in the hotly competitive autonomous driving business.......View Article
Aug 27, 2018
Minto Apartment REIT Opens the Market
On Monday, August 13th, 2018, Chief Executive Officer of The Minto Group and Minto Apartment REIT, Michael Waters, was joined by over 20 Minto executives, as well as Executive Chairman Roger Greenberg, to open the market at the Toronto Stock Exchange in downtown Toronto......View Article
Aug 27, 2018
TREB loses Supreme Court bid to appeal release of real estate sold figures
Toronto Real Estate Board wanted to prevent members from releasing home sale prices. The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday morning it won't hear an appeal from the Toronto Real Estate Board that would aim to keep the board's members from publishing home sales data......View Article
Aug 27, 2018
Elon Musk Details ‘Excruciating’ Personal Toll of Tesla Turmoil
Elon Musk was at home in Los Angeles, struggling to maintain his composure. “This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career,” he said. “It was excruciating.”.....View Article
Aug 25, 2018
Elon Musk abandons plan to take Tesla private
In a dramatic U-turn, Elon Musk said late Friday that he has given up on his plan to take Tesla private. The billionaire entrepreneur stunned investors earlier this month when he tweeted that he had secured funding to remove the electric-car maker from the stock market.. .....View Article
Aug 23, 2018
Our Series B and the Road Ahead
We’re announcing $20M in Series B financing, led by GV (formerly Google Ventures) with continued participation from prior investors including our Series A lead, Matrix Partners.. .....View Article
Aug 21, 2018
5 KEY INDUSTRY DRIVERS FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS IN CANADA
Over the past decade, REITs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) have offered some of the strongest returns, while the TSX REIT Index has approximately doubled the performance of the TSX Composite Index over the same period. .....View Article
Aug 17, 2018
Roundtable 3 - WaterFront Toronto
Waterfront Toronto Established in 2001 by the three orders of government.....View Article
Aug 17, 2018
Quebec Transfer Duties on Immovables: Recent Developments
On October 26, 2017, the provincial government introduced Bill 16, which amends the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) and other acts. . ... View Article
Aug 17, 2018
2018 B.C. Budget: Real Property Implications
The NDP government in B.C. handed down its first full budget on February 20, 2018 and there were a number of initiatives that will affect the cost of acquisition and disposition of real property in B.C. ... View Article
Aug 16, 2018
Duties on Transfers of Immovables in Quebec: Department of Finance Exempts Partnerships
On December 20, 2017, the Quebec Department of Finance published its end-of-year bulletin, Information Bulletin 2017-14 (Bulletin). ... View Article
Aug 16, 2018
Fixing a Loophole – B.C. to Restrict Fixed-Term Residential Leases
On October 26, 2017, the provincial government introduced Bill 16, which amends the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) and other acts. ... View Article
Aug 15, 2018
Secure the Deal: Be Clear About Title in Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreements
In its recent decision, JBP Developments Ltd. v. Li, the Supreme Court of British Columbia (Court) reminded sellers of real estate and their advisers about the basic obligation to transfer clear title to the property for sale... View Article
Aug 15, 2018
Constellation Brands spending $5 billion to boost stake in Canopy Growth
Canopy shares surged 30% on the deal the Corona beer owner describes as the biggest investment yet in the burgeoning marijuana industry.......... View Article
Aug 13, 2018
B.C. to Crack Down on Hidden Ownership of Real Estate with New Reporting Obligations
On June 20, 2018, the B.C. Ministry of Finance released a white paper on draft legislation that will require reporting on beneficial ownership of land in B.C.......... View Article
Aug 13, 2018
RBC Global Asset Management expands its private markets business with appointment of new Head of Real Estate Equity Investments
RBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM) today announced the appointment of Michael Kitt as Head, Real Estate Equity Investments......... View Article
Aug 3, 2018
Home sales and prices rise in Toronto region for a second straight month
In a sign that the Toronto area real estate market is in recovery mode, year-over-year resale home prices and sales rose for a second consecutive month in July........ View Article
Aug,1, 2018
Local Resistance Builds to Google’s ‘Smart City’ in Toronto
Biggest project by Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs faces questions over who will handle residents’ personal data in the high-tech setting....... View Article
July 31, 2018
Waymo's Self-Driving Cars Are Near: Meet the Teen Who Rides One Every Day
Alphabet is experimenting with prices and finalizing its business model before unleashing its autonomous fleet in Phoenix this year........ View Article
July 30, 2018
Heatwave was triggered by climate change, according to new research
The unprecedented temperatures seen over Summer 2018 are a sign of things to come—and a direct result of climate change, according to new Oxford University research...... View Article
July 27, 2018
Jennifer Keesmaat, former chief planner, running for Toronto mayor
John Tory has his first real competition in the mayor’s race.Jennifer Keesmaat, the city’s former chief planner, registered Friday before the 2 p.m. deadline to run for mayor... ...... View Article
July 27, 2018
The People’s Penthouse
Falling real estate prices, like toppled statues of despots, can have a democratizing effect. In the overheated New York apartment market, a case in point: penthouses for the people.. ...... View Article
July 24, 2018
City budgets in an era of increased uncertainty
Cities in the United States are likely to shoulder additional responsibilities during the Trump administration, as federal leaders seek to cut the federal budget and workforce and reduce regulatory authority in Washington. ...... View Article
July 20, 2018
Impact of tighter lending rules appears to be easing says TD
The latest data on Canadian existing home sales suggests that the impact of the tighter mortgage rules introduced this year may be easing....... View Article
July 19, 2018
Costco launches online grocery delivery in Canada
Costco.ca is the latest retailer to launch an online grocery store in Canada, starting with some stores in southern Ontario...... View Article
July 18, 2018
JLL Spark announces $100 million global venture fund
JLL Spark, a division of JLL (NYSE: JLL), announced today the creation of JLL Spark Global Venture Fund, which plans to invest up to $100 million in companies focused on leveraging technology to improve everything from real estate development and management to leasing and investing, while enhancing the experience of those who occupy it...... View Article
July 13, 2018
Landlords will need to qualify prospective recreational-cannabis retailers in emerging growth industry
The rapid emergence of the new recreational-cannabis industry in Canada is providing opportunities for business creation and growth. As the legal retail sale of recreational cannabis becomes a reality, landlords are endeavouring to determine whether this new line of retailers is a good fit for their properties....... View Article
July 12, 2018
Bank of Canada raises benchmark interest rate to 1.5%, noting trade tensions
Central bank has raised its rate 4 times since last summer as economy has heated up....... View Article
July 11, 2018
WeWork Rival Convene Raises $152 Million to Fuel Its Expansion
Convene, a New York-based real estate startup that specializes in flexible meeting and working space, has raised $152 million from investors including Revolution Growth, Brookfield Property Partners LP and the Durst Organization, its co-founders said....... View Article
July 10, 2018
TD Bank becomes Canada's biggest money manager with $792-million deal to buy Greystone Managed Investments
The proposed transaction between TD and the Greystone will bring total assets under management at the bank to $393 billion...... View Article
July 3, 2018
WeWork Makes Retail Debut With First WeMrkt In NYC, Plans National Expansion
Office sharing giant WeWork has launched WeMrkt in New York City, which is a reinvention of the company's Honesty Market. The first of the new stores is located at the 205 Hudson WeWork location in Lower Manhattan, with plans to expand to other locations in New York and then nationally soon after...... View Article
July 3, 2018
Blackstone enters Canadian multi-family, JVs with Starlight
Blackstone Property Partners might be the world’s largest private equity real estate investor, but its global portfolio has been lacking assets in a key Canadian sector. That deficiency is one factor which led to a partnership with Starlight Investments to purchase six Canadian multi-family buildings in Toronto and Montreal....... View Article
June 28, 2018
Starlight Investments and Blackstone Announce Canadian Multi-Family Partnership with Acquisition of Six Urban Toronto and Montreal Buildings Comprising 746 Units
Starlight Investments ("Starlight") and an affiliate of Blackstone Property Partners ("Blackstone") are pleased to announce the formation of a joint venture to acquire a portfolio of six multi-family buildings comprised of 746 units (the "Portfolio")....... View Article
June 26, 2018
Will Blockchain Smart Contracts Revolutionize Real Estate Transactions?
Similar to Bitcoin and other virtual currencies powered by blockchain technology, “smart contracts” have the potential to eliminate the need for trusted third parties to facilitate transactions. In the case of real estate agreements, contracts could be verified and enforced automatically without the need for human interaction, reducing the need for agents, lenders, inspectors and title insurance providers...... View Article
June 22, 2018
Cushman & Wakefield Files for IPO
The company could seek about $1 billion and seek a valuation in excess of $5 billion, according to people familiar with the deal...... View Article
June 13, 2018
Airbnb took a big hit in Japan that left thousands of travelers with no lodging
If you're traveling to Japan in the next few weeks and you have an Airbnb reservation, you better start looking for alternate housing because thousands of listings have been removed thanks to a new law...... View Article
June 5, 2018
Video: Tough Times Ahead for Canada’s Housing Market?
CIBC’s Benjamin Tal weighs in on the Canadian housing market..... View Video
June 6, 2018
True North Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust Completes Acquisition of Toronto Trophy Asset
True North Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (the "REIT") (TSX: TNT.UN) is pleased to announce it has closed the previously announced acquisition of a 274,500 square foot Class "A" LEED Gold office building located at 5775 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario (the "Yonge Street Property")....... View Article
June 5, 2018
Toronto Real Estate Forecast 2018 – 2019
With a troubling Ontario election in one week, NAFTA trade worries, US tariffs and tariff retaliation by Canada, high consumer debt, oil flow blockages in BC, nrising interest and mortgage rates, and an awful jobs report, it’s tough for Toronto home buyers to feel at ease in this summer of 2018...... View Article
June 4, 2018
Sneak peek at Singapore Changi Airport's spectacular new Jewel
A 250-meter-long bouncing net three stories above ground. A 50-meter-long suspended bridge with glass-panel flooring...... View Article
May 29, 2018
The Store (It Would Seem) Is Not Dead (at Least for Now)
Amazon isn’t going anywhere, so shops that would rather not shut down are adapting, resulting in a somewhat surprising retail renaissance..... View Article
May 25, 2018
Car2Go to shut down in Toronto, blaming new city rules
Car2Go, the prominent car-sharing company that claims 80,000 users in Toronto, will stop operations in the city on May 31, it announced Thursday in a release...... View Article
May 25, 2018
The Saga Of San Francisco's Sinking And Tilting Millennium Tower
Ever since news broke over the sinking and tilting of Millennium Tower in San Francisco, there has been a litany of news reports and lawsuits. Issues with settling and the building's foundation have created a new emphasis on the stability of the foundations of other high-rises going up downtown..... View Article
May 25, 2018
Pure Industrial Real Estate Announces Closing of Plan of Arrangement with Blackstone and Ivanhoe Cambridge
Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (TSX: AAR.UN) (the "Trust") announces today the closing (the "Closing") of the previously-announced plan of arrangement, pursuant to which an affiliate of Blackstone Property Partners, the Core+ real estate investment unit of Blackstone, and Ivanhoé Cambridge, a subsidiary of CDPQ, acquired all of the issued and outstanding trust units of the Trust (each, a "Unit") for $8.10 per Unit in cash (the "Transaction")..... View Article
May 24, 2018
Ocado, the tech startup you thought was a supermarket
In a cavernous shed on an industrial park in Hampshire, hundreds of robots are at work in the “hive”. In Ocado’s latest Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC), 65,000 orders a week are prepared for some of the grocer’s 645,000 online customers. It is probably the most technologically advanced such centre in the world..... View Article
May 24, 2018
Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust Files Preliminary Prospectus for Initial Public Offering of Trust Units
Dinto Properties Inc. ("Minto Properties") and Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (the "REIT") announced today the filing and receipt of a preliminary prospectus in respect of the REIT's initial public offering of trust units (the "Units") of the REIT (the "Offering"). ..... View Article
May 22, 2018
Elevation – how drones will change cities
Drones will transform cities, revolutionising how people travel, how goods are delivered and how buildings look and are constructed, according to a documentary by Dezeen..... View Article
May 18, 2018
Legal pot spurs demand for commercial real estate, especially in Alberta where it's 'absolute insanity'
Alberta’s cannabis retail licensing system has big players and mom and pop shops alike vying for prime spots and submitting applications...... View Article
May 18, 2018
Developers offer insights into GTA condo trends
Larger units and more buildings in public transit-accessible suburban locations are two of the trends to look for in the Greater Toronto Area condominium market....... View Article
May 18, 2018
Liberating Toronto’s employment lands for housing, jobs
Ken Greenberg has what he calls a “breakthrough idea” to address the needs for affordable housing and jobs and to leverage the massive public investment in GTA transit infrastructure...... View Article
May 17, 2018
Is Toronto Cursing Amazon in HQ2 Bid?
"We are the only bid book that has a swear word in it. It's the one that begins with F and ends with K, and it's not firetruck," Toby Lennox, chief executive of Toronto Global, joked to a crowd of about 900 real estate professionals at the Land & Development Conference held yesterday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre..... View Article
May 11, 2018
Shifting Gears: Exploring the Future of Parking Garages
With speeding advances in the transportation sector, it’s hard to imagine what the future of mobility will look like down the road. Over the last few years, we have seen a major increase in the use of ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, which have completely transformed the ways we choose to move..... View Article
May 11, 2018
IBI Group Launches Smart City Sandbox with Partners EllisDon, The Weather Network and Slate
Canadian design and technology firm opens global smart city-themed accelerator, powered by Microsoft technology, to create more livable and resilient cities.... View Article
May 8, 2018
REID: Hi-Lo-rise Infill Buildings
Amidst the discussion of the potential and challenges of building new mid-rise buildings to increase density along Toronto’s main streets outside the core, it might be worth paying attention to a modest type of new infill building that pops up here and there on main streets in the older parts of the city.... View Article
May 7, 2018
U of T’s New School of Cities to Bring Wide-ranging Experts Together to Address Urban Challenges
The University of Toronto is establishing a new School of Cities that brings together researchers from across various disciplines to address the myriad challenges facing the world’s urban areas, where more than half the population now lives.... View Article
May 5, 2018
Q1 2018 US Lodging Market Update, Strong
Fundamentals
The US lodging industry continues to enjoy the benefits of strong economic fundamentals as
... metrics on spending, global trade, and various manufacturing indices signal that America’s
economy is poised for further growth... View Article
May 3, 2018
Vancouver has lowest office vacancy in North America: JLL
Metro Vancouver’s office vacancy has dropped to the lowest in North America, but gross office rents for the region remain among the most affordable, according to figures released by... View Article
April 30, 2018
Doug Ford assured developers he plans to open up Greenbelt to housing development
PC leader said he will “open a big chunk” of protected GTHA farmland to build housing if the Progressive Conservatives win the June 7 election.... View Article
April 30, 2018
Exclusive: Toronto's Wynn Family Selling $1 Billion Real Estate Portfolio
Wynn Group of Companies, one of Toronto's largest multifamily property owners, has agreed to sell more than $1 billion worth of assets to Timbercreek Asset Management... View Article
April 29, 2018
Are Cryptos the Dot-Com of this Stock Market Cycle?
Many investors are scratching their heads over the mania around crypto-currencies.... View Article
April 29, 2018
Calgary’s commercial property woes linger despite upturn in Alberta economy
The latest numbers show that, although Alberta's economy is on the mend, the province is the site of some of the most financially problematic pieces of commercial real estate in the country... View Article
April 27, 2018
Wework accounts for consciousness
Also common ownership, banks vs. tech companies, informative 10-Ks and surveillance... View Article
April 17, 2018
Tim hortons headquarters relocates to downtown toronto from long-time oakville Ont., home
Tim Hortons is moving its headquarters to a 6000 square-metre space in the Exchange Tower in the Toronto's financial district... View Article
April 5, 2018
Starlight Investments Completes Landmark Acquisition of Four Concrete High-Rise Buildings Located in Vancouver City Centre
Starlight Investments ("Starlight") is pleased to announce that it has completed the assembly from the original owner of four landmark concrete multi-residential high-rise buildings comprised of 456 units strategically located in Downtown and North Vancouver, British Columbia.... View Article
March 29, 2018
Broccolinni Plans montreal's tallest residential tower
Broccolini plans to build the tallest residential tower in Montreal on land it recently acquired near the Tour de la Bourse, in a move that would replace its own L/Avenue development as the city’s highest residential skyscraper... View Article
March 26, 2018
B.C. bows to housing-tax furor, cuts rates for Canadians with vacation homes
B.C. is overhauling a proposed ousing tax to limit its impact on British Columbians and other Canadians after a backlash over complaints the tax would unfairly target people with vacation homes.... View Article
March 15, 2018
Toys 'r' us will cose or sell all us stores
It marks the end of a company that sold toys, bikes, video games and birthday presents to millions of American kids... View Article
March, 2018
How to spot 'Power of attorney' fraud
Years ago, powers of attorney were commonly used in real estate transactions when an individual was incapacitated or a spouce was in the military... View Article
March 3, 2018
Fundamentals solid, expect CRE bull run to continue: CBRE
Nine years into a bull run for the Canadian commercial real estate industry, underlying fundamentals remain so strong the end of the market cycle still doesn’t appear to be in sight... View Article
March 3, 2018
Quebec Forum tackles Rental Housing challenges
An influx of affluent international students in Montreal is providing new opportunities to developers and forcing managers of student housing to up their game, says Jean-Marc Bélanger, vice-president of operations at... View Article
February 20, 2018
Grow-op Nation: Canada's pot industry is hungry for real estate
Canada's industrial real estate sector is as hot as it's ever been and the legalization of recreational pot will only add to the demand... View Article
February 15, 2018
Montreal's Carbonleo lays out royalmount mega-project
Carbonleo’s massive Royalmount mixed-use mega-project, which it plans to build at the busy intersection of Highways 15 and 40 in the heart of Montreal, will include 3.6 million square feet of commercial space.... View Article
February 1, 2018
Amazon's warehouses don't boost overall employment, study finds
The nonprofit Good Jobs First tabulated that from 2005 to 2016, countries, cities, and states gave up a total of at least $1 billion in tax revenue... View Article
January 11, 2018
Why you shouldn't bet on a montreal housing bubble
The Haider-Moranis Bulletin: Montreal's housing market is booming, but there are a few reasons to be skeptical the city is headed down the path of Toronto and Vancouver... View Article
January, 2018
The millennial generation: a demographic bridge to america's diverse future
The millennial generation, over 75 million strong is America's largest - eclipsing the current size of the postwar baby boom generation... View Article
November 28, 2017
WeWork creeps further into time and space with Meetup purchase
WeWork has built its brand image on crafting the modern-day work experience around flexible desks, office snacks, and communal couches... View Article
December 4, 2017
great streets project could create a downtown toronto worth getting out of your car to enjoy
The city's planning department is looking at how streets, sidewalks and park space in the downtown area, including University Avenue, could be reshuffled... View Article
November 30, 2017
Blackstone ceo: Tech drives canadian, international cre
When Jonathan gray talks, everyone else stops. And listens. The global head of real estate for the U.S.- based Blackstone (BX-N), who oversees the world's lagest assemblage of commercial real estate... View Article
November 29, 2017
G.m. unveils its driverless cars, aiming to lead the pack
For more than a year; General motors has tantalized investors with plans to build its future around self driving cars. It has regularly announced big investments and progress reports, but the company has kept its prototype vehicles largely under wraps - until now... View Article
November 29, 2017
How blockchain could eventually change the way governments function
Blockchain technology could change the way many governments operate, mostly through an increase in both efficiency and data transparency... View Article
November 29, 2017
Census 2016: Canadians, including recent immigrants, are among most educated in the world
Statscan's final release from the 2016 cencus sheds new light on how Canadians work, study and live. Here are the highlights... View Article
November 28, 2017
No Shortage of tenants for new industrial space
Just east of Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, real estate company Bentall Kennedy is building its first speculative industrial project in the city... View Article
November 28, 2017
Global property investores turn to secondary cities
Global commecial real estate investors are shifting their focus toward secondary cities as property prices have sored in larger centres... View Article
November 23, 2017
Ivanhoé Cambridge begins major work to Place Ville Marie Esplanade
Initiating a new chapter in the “Project Nouveau-centre,” its plan for downtown Montreal... View Article
November 27, 2017
Province should take over the TTC and other cities' transit systems, says toronto region board of trade
Authors of new Toronto Region Board of Trade report argue creating a "Superlinx" to rule the region's transit would "finally provide the world-class transit system" the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor needs... View Article
November 22, 2017
Metro plans to scale back store hours, extend e-commerce service in Ontario
Metro has said it experts to incur $45-$50 million in extra costs in 2018 from the minimum wage hike in Ontario… View Article
November 28, 2017
Michael Arrington has a new $100 million hedge fund that will be valued in ripple's xrp
The prominent tech figure Michael Arrington announced a new hedge fund on Tuesday that will be denominated in the crypto-currency XRP, a rival to bitcoin... View Article
November 19, 2017
Loblaw the latest to experience the ‘Amazon effect’
Loblaw is the latest grocer to commit to offering home delivery… View Article
November 17, 2017
Real estate M&A has eclipsed the record level set on the eve of the financial crisis – and it’s to do with the retail apocalypse
Mergers and acquisitions of real estate companies have hit record levels in 2017… View Article
November 15, 2017
Amazon’s Cashierless Store Is Almost Ready for Prime Time
The Amazon Go team is said to have worked out many of the technical bugs and is starting to hire store-related personnel… View Article
November 9, 2017
Amazon Key-like deliveries could raise your insurance rates experts say
There are still many questions about how insurance will cover someone opening your door and entering your house to deliver packages... View Article
October 23, 2017
Office buildings urged to be facilitators of change
Creative programming adds value to properties Creative programming can add value to properties in an increasingly competitive leasing environment, but... View Article
October 23, 2017
How to navigate lease extensions and renewals
Five tips for commercial tenants as they review, negotiate and exercise options That lease agreements are getting fatter is not... View Article
October 23, 2017
What crisis? Canada’s retail sector adapting, experts say
Daily headlines of doom and gloom in Canadian retail might be overblown, according to panelists discussing the sector at the... View Article
October 23, 2017
JVs, mixed-use developments help REITs mitigate risk
“Partnerships” and “mixed-use” have become mainstays in the vocabularies of REIT executives as they increasingly turn to development to maximize... View Article
October 23, 2017
CAIC panel tackles best practices for older apartment buildings
Older apartment buildings need to be treated differently from new properties when it comes to buying, selling and maintainance, and... View Article
October 23, 2017
Residential leaders share multi-family investment strategies
Do different types of investors have different approaches to the multi-family asset class? Representatives from private equity funds, a real... View Article
October 23, 2017
Government policies hot topic at TO apartment conference
Proposed Ontario government policies regarding rental housing introduced in the spring were still a major topic of discussion at Wednesday’s Canadian... View Article
October 19, 2017
Google firm wins competition to build high-tech Quayside neighbourhood in Toronto
Once officially confirmed, Sidewalk Labs, sister company of Google, will construct the neighbourhood on the east downtown waterfront. Google’s urban... View Article
October 19, 2017
WiredScore and the Future of the Toronto Office Market
Advanced digital connectivity has become a non-negotiable feature for tenants when selecting office space. Attend WiredScore and the Future of the... View Article
October 11, 2017
Canadian pension funds have amassed $188B in real estate assets. And they are hungry for more
Are Canadian pension funds ready to gobble up even more real estate? New report suggests by 2016 they held $188... View Article
October 11, 2017
Costco shares down on fears of grocery delivery eating into margins
(Reuters) – Shares in Costco (COST.O) fell 6 percent on Friday after the retailer reported a decline in quarterly gross... View Article
October 11, 2017
Ottawa developer and philanthropist John Ruddy named 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient
It’s a rare entrepreneur whose name alone would be enough to convince some of Ottawa’s most astute businessmen to pour... View Article
October 6, 2017
Jennifer Keesmaat to teach at University of Toronto
Former chief planner of Toronto will teach a course at the university about how to improve the city. Jennifer Keesmaat’s... View Article
October 3, 2017
RioCan selling up to $2 billion in real estate in smaller markets to focus on Canada’s big six cities
Long-time CEO Ed Sonshine also hints to investors that he could be around longer than expected Edward Sonshine, chief executive... View Article
October 3, 2017
RioCan selling 100 properties, valued at about $2B
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (REI.UN-T) is taking the final major step toward becoming a REIT which focuses almost solely on Canada’s... View Article
September 27, 2017
Slowdown coming in B.C. CRE transactions: Avison Young
The end of 2017 will also likely be the end of an unprecedented five years of commercial real estate sales in... View Article
September 27, 2017
1,000 rental units cancelled because of Ontario rent control, new report finds
The study warns that unless 6,250 additional new rental units are built each year for the next decade vacancy rates... View Article
September 27, 2017
Toronto Has More Housing Than You Thought
When it comes to Toronto’s runaway housing prices, the most important question remains the extent to which speculation is driving demand... View Article
September 27, 2017
Amazon customers can now return things for free at Kohl’s or Whole Foods
Amazon customers now have a growing list of options when it comes to returning their online purchases in person. In... View Article
September 14, 2017
These will be the 21 most powerful economies in 2030
Emerging markets will start to dominate rankings of the world’s top economies by 2030, according to a report published earlier... View Article
September 14, 2017
Landlords can no longer evict tenants without compensation
Ontario tenants will have additional protection from eviction starting Friday; when a landlord ends a tenancy to have family members... View Article
August 14, 2017
Amazon on verge of closing two major office leases in Vancouver and Toronto
The online behemoth appears to be expanding its position in the Canadian marketplace Amazon.com Inc. is close to finalizing deals... View Article
August 14, 2017
WANT TO COMMUTE INTO DOWNTOWN TORONTO? HERE ARE THE BEST PLACES TO LIVE
Got a job downtown and trying to figure out where the best place to live is? After all, there’s a... View Article
August 8, 2017
Weather disasters to impact 2 out of 3 Europeans by 2100, study says
By the end of the century, two out of three people living in Europe will be affected by heat waves,... View Article
August 8, 2017
Revealed: the insidious creep of pseudo-public space in London
Pseudo-public space – squares and parks that seem public but are actually owned by corporations – has quietly spread across... View Article
August 8, 2017
The Paris model for city problem-solving
The aftermath to the Trump administration’s recent withdrawal from the Paris agreement revealed some tantalizing possibilities of the new domestic and... View Article
August 8, 2017
The Hutchins Center Explains: The debt limit
The recurring need to lift the ceiling on overall U.S. Treasury borrowing – currently set at $19.8 trillion – is always... View Article
August 3, 2017
Renting in Toronto Is a Total Nightmare
With rents at all-time highs, would-be tenants woo landlords with Tinder-style bios. Ask Kin Lau. Normally, landlords would be swiping... View Article
July 27, 2017
Starlight U.S. Multi-Family Announces a Partnership with Two Globally Recognized Institutional Investors with the Intention to Identify and Acquire U.S.$1.3 Billion of Class "A" Multi-Family Apartment Properties in Southern U.S.
Starlight Investments ("Starlight") is pleased to announce it has formed a partnership (the "Partnership") with two globally recognized institutional investors to identify and acquire US$1.3 billionof recently constructed, class "A", garden style, multi-family properties in Atlanta, Georgia, Austin and Dallas, Texas, Denver, Colorado, Orlando and Tampa, Florida and Phoenix, Arizona. ...... View Article
July 19, 2017
5 Parking Innovations Every City Should Adopt
From pay-by-plate kiosks to pollution surcharges to length-based fees. No one knows more about parking than UCLA’s Donald Shoup, the so-called... View Article
July 12, 2017
Bank of Canada raises interest rate for first time in 7 years to 0.75%
Canada’s central bank cited confidence in its economic outlook, but said it will wait for more data before committing to... View Article
July 4, 2017
LORINC: Waterfront announcement is a game-changer
Later this fall, Spacing will publish a small compendium of pivotal civic turning points in our collective history – “25 Days That... View Article
June 27, 2017
Behold, Greater Vancouver’s most expensive real estate listing of all time
Vancouver may be Canada’s most expensive real estate market. But even that city has never seen a listing like this... View Article
June 27, 2017
Proposed Calgary tower aims to meet student-housing demand
Rendering of a proposed 28-storey residence in Motel Village area of Calgary by Toronto-based developer Campus Suites. A budget motel... View Article
June 27, 2017
‘Once all the properties have been sold, there will be no other business’: Saskatoon landlord has ‘limited life,’ around 60 jobs in danger
About 60 people are likely to lose their jobs as almost 1,300 apartments in Saskatchewan are sold out from under... View Article
June 27, 2017
The Most Lucrative Real Estate On The Planet
The U.S. wireless market is already mature, so giants like AT&T are looking south, where the revolution is still in... View Article
June 21, 2017
Home Capital Sells Mortgage Assets to KingSett For C$1.16 Billion in Cash
Home Capital Group Inc., the embattled alternative lender, agreed to sell a clutch of commercial mortgages to affiliates of KingSett Capital... View Article
June 21, 2017
Market more important than cap rate in apartment valuation
Apartment building capitalization rates are dependent upon location, quality of product and how quickly rents are growing in a market... View Article
June 21, 2017
Canada’s biggest cities move to regulate Airbnb, but it’s no easy task
Following in the footsteps of major municipalities around the world, Canada’s biggest cities are getting closer to regulating Airbnb, the popular... View Article
June 21, 2017
Is Retail Really ‘F*cked’? 28 Global CRE Leaders Speak Out
The refrain of doomsday headlines are endless: “Retail Is Dead,” “Inside The Retail Apocalypse,” “Is Retail Coming Back From The... View Article
June 19, 2017
Retail bloodbath: Bankruptcy filings pile up
Bankruptcies continue to pile up in the retail industry. More than 300 retailers have filed for bankruptcy so far this... View Article
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